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Ultra-highly sensitive, low hysteretic and flexible pressure sensor based on porous MWCNTs/Ecoflex elastomer composites

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Abstract

In this paper, a new method was proposed to improve the sensitivity of capacitive-type pressure sensors by using the high dielectric constant materials as dielectric layer of sensors. The porous multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/Ecoflex elastomer composites with high dielectric constant were prepared to serve as dielectric layers of capacitive-type pressure sensors. The MWCNTs/Ecoflex elastomer composite sensors show ultra-high sensitivity of 2.306 kPa−1, wide dynamic range and low hysteresis. The as-prepared sensors can monitor the response to pressure below 2.6 Pa. Moreover, they have exhibited excellent performances in promising practical applications as wearable devices in detecting pulses of carotid artery and heartbeats. This strategy proposed here presents a promising way to obtain high performance pressure sensors for applications in E-skin, robotics, wearable medical aids and real-time tactile sensing systems.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11054331, 61605174, 11774318 and 11604302), and Scientific Research Program Funded by Henan Provincial Education Department (Grant No. 15A140040).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Physics and Engineering and Key Laboratory of Materials Physics, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China

    Zheng Wen, Jiahao Yang, Huizhen Ding, Wule Zhang, Di Wu, Junmin Xu, Zhifeng Shi, Tingting Xu, Yongtao Tian & Xinjian Li

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  1. Zheng Wen
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  2. Jiahao Yang
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  3. Huizhen Ding
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  4. Wule Zhang
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  7. Zhifeng Shi
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Correspondence to Yongtao Tian.

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Wen, Z., Yang, J., Ding, H. et al. Ultra-highly sensitive, low hysteretic and flexible pressure sensor based on porous MWCNTs/Ecoflex elastomer composites. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 29, 20978–20983 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-0242-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-018-0242-3

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