High-performance self-powered integrated system of pressure sensor and supercapacitor based on Cu@Cu2O/graphitic carbon layered porous structure

With the rapid development of human-machine technology, self-powered pressure sensor integrated systems have been extensively studied. However, there are only a few reports on such multifunctional devices using a single active material. In this work, we report a flexible integrated system, which consists of flexible pressure sensors and supercapacitors. Both of the devices were fabricated based on layered porous Cu@Cu2O/graphitic carbon (Cu@Cu2O/GC) composites, which were obtained by a one-step simple polymer heat treatment method. Due to the discontinuous conductive paths and effective stress concen-tration relief in the composite, the pressure sensor shows a high sensitivity of 90 kPa(-1) in a wide working range of 0-150 kPa, a fast response time of 90 ms, and a detection limit of 2.4 Pa. Moreover, the layered porous structure Cu@Cu2O/GC can not only maintain the integrity of the electrode material, but also pro-mote the diffusion of electrons, enabling super capacitors to obtain excellent electrochemical perfor-mance. The specific capacitance of the super capacitor is 17.8 mF cmz. More importantly, the flexible self-powered integrated system could be directly attached to the human body to detect human motions, showing its great potential application in wearable devices.(c) 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper presents a flexible integrated system consisting of flexible pressure sensors and supercapacitors. Both devices are made of layered porous Cu@Cu2O/graphitic carbon composites. The pressure sensor exhibits high sensitivity of 90 kPa(-1), fast response time of 90 ms, and a detection limit of 2.4 Pa due to the discontinuous conductive paths and stress concentration relief in the composite. The layered porous structure of Cu@Cu2O/graphitic carbon enables excellent electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor with a specific capacitance of 17.8 mF cmz. The flexible self-powered integrated system can be directly attached to the human body for motion detection, indicating great potential in wearable devices.