Enhancing the Performance of Wearable Flexible Sensors via Electrospinning

Abstract

Wearable, flexible sensing is a rapidly growing technology in the commercial market, with continuous scientific advancement required to meet increasing demand in continuous and real-time health monitoring applications. This review comprehensively explores the state-of-the-art advancements in flexible wearable sensors produced by electrospinning technology, primarily emphasizing cutting-edge functional sensor materials. Electrospinning is a technique used to produce continuous nanoscale polymer fibers, which has been introduced to highlight its development for implementation in wearable, flexible sensing. Electrospun fibrous membranes offer several advantages for wearable sensing, such as simple and scalable fabrication, huge surface-area-to-volume ratios, mechanical flexibility and elasticity, chemical and thermal resilience, and skin conformity. In recent years, innovations in electrospinning and wearable sensing combinations have demonstrated the potential to produce improved sensor designs. This review delves into the myriad applications of electrospinning, showcasing its pivotal role in the field of wearable sensing. Additionally, we compare these electrospun-material-based sensors with commercially available sensing devices, highlighting their respective advantages and offering insights into the performance benefits and limitations of each.

Keywords: electrospinning; health monitoring; nanofibers; nanomaterials; wearable flexible sensor.