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. 2022 Apr 25;22(9):3281.
doi: 10.3390/s22093281.

Design of a Highly Sensitive Reduced Graphene Oxide/Graphene Oxide@Cellulose Acetate/Thermoplastic Polyurethane Flexible Sensor

Yujie Yang  1 , Tan Yi  1 , Yang Liu  1   2   3 , Hui Zhao  1   2 , Chen Liang  1   2
Affiliations

Design of a Highly Sensitive Reduced Graphene Oxide/Graphene Oxide@Cellulose Acetate/Thermoplastic Polyurethane Flexible Sensor

Yujie Yang et al. Sensors (Basel). .

Abstract

As a substitute for rigid sensors, flexible sensing materials have been greatly developed in recent years, but maintaining the stability of conductive fillers and the stability of micro-strain sensing is still a major challenge. In this experiment, we innovatively prepared a polyurethane-based cellulose acetate composite membrane (CA/TPU) with abundant mesopores through electrospinning. Then, we reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-as a conductive filler-and graphene oxide (GO)-as an insulating layer-which were successively and firmly anchored on the CA/TPU nanofiber membrane with the ultrasonic impregnation method, to obtain an rGO/GO@CA/TPU sensor with a GF of 3.006 under a very small strain of 0.5%. The flexibility of the film and its high sensitivity under extremely low strains enables the detection of subtle human motions (such as finger bending, joint motion, etc.), making it suitable for potential application in wearable electronic devices.

Keywords: electrospinning; flexible strain sensor; high sensitivity; porous fiber.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagram of the whole preparation process of the GO/rGO@CA/TPU nanofiber film.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effect of the viscosity of the spinning fluid on fiber morphology and the distribution of the fiber diameter.
Figure 3
Figure 3
BET analysis of the electrospun fiber surface at different concentrations.
Figure 4
Figure 4
SEM micrographs of the electrospun fiber surface: (a) 14% concentration and (b) 16% concentration.
Figure 5
Figure 5
The surface micromorphology of anchored graphene fibers: (a) plan view of nanofibers after anchoring rGO; (b) cross-sectional view of nanofibers after anchoring rGO; (c) plan view of nanofibers after anchoring GO; (d) anchor cross-section of nanofibers after GO.
Figure 6
Figure 6
C1S high-precision photon energy spectrum of the film: (a) CA/TPU film, (b) rGO@CA/TPU film, and (c) GO/rGO@CA/TPU film.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Tensile strain response of the CA/TPU film before and after graphene anchoring. (a) Resistance response curves of rGO@ CA/TPU under different strains; (b) resistance response curves of rGO/GO@CA/TPU under different strains; (c) resistance response curves of rGO/GO@CA/TPU at different stretching rates under 10% strain; (d) resistance response curves of rGO/GO@CA/TPU at different stretching rates under 5% strain.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Monitoring of the motion of the human body with the functional flexible sensor. (a) Monitoring of the lateral flexion and extension of fingers, (b) monitoring of the lateral flexion of the wrist, (c) monitoring of the dorsal flexion and extension of the knee.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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