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Facile Fabrication of Highly Flexible and Sensitive Strain Sensors Based on UV-laser-reduced Graphene Oxide with CuO Nanoparticles for Human Health Monitoring

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Abstract

Applications of graphene-based materials in wearable devices have garnered significant attention owing to their excellent mechanical and electrical properties. However, graphene fabrication is hindered by its inherent structural characteristics, which necessitates the development of alternative materials for strain sensors. In this study, a novel flexible resistive-type strain sensor composed of a unique three-dimensional conductive carbon network was fabricated using a UV pulsed laser. Using a 355-nm UV pulsed laser, composites based on UV laser-reduced graphene oxide (UV-LRGO) with CuO nanoparticles on a PDMS substrate (Cu/UV-LRGO/PDMS) were selectively fabricated via direct laser writing. This fabrication method offers a contact-free, environmentally sustainable, and cost-effective approach, providing a streamlined one-step process that eliminates the necessity for toxic chemicals, thermal reduction, and complex protocols. The composites were meticulously characterized via various spectroscopic techniques. Notably, the proposed sensor exhibited robust performance, withstanding 7,200 stretching-relaxing cycles and accommodating strains of up to 25%, while also exhibiting a high strain gauge factor (~ 1026 GF). This work introduces a straightforward strategy for fabricating flexible strain sensors with high sensitivity and remarkable repeatability for human health monitoring, and observations including wrist pulses, finger banding, and facial eyebrow movements can be effectively monitored.

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Data Availability

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) under Discovery Grant RGPIN-2019-05778. This work was supported by the Technology Innovation Program (P0008763) funded by the (MOTIE, Korea). This research was supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health &Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number : HI19C1085).

Funding

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) under Discovery Grant RGPIN-2019–05778. This work was supported by the Technology Innovation Program (P0008763) funded by the (MOTIE, Korea). This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No.2022R1A5A2027161).

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Author notes

  1. Jun-Uk Lee and Bo-Seok Kang Kang contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Multifunctional Composites Manufacturing Laboratory (MCML), Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 3G8, Canada

    Jun-Uk Lee & Patrick C. Lee

  2. Department of Cogno-Mechatronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Pusan, South Korea

    Bo-Seok Kang & Su-Chan Cho

  3. Department of Optics and Mechatronics Engineering, Pusan National University, Pusan, South Korea

    Bo-Sung Shin

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Contributions

J.-U.L.; B.-S.K.; methodology, J.-U.L., B.-S.K. and S.-C.C.; software, J.-U.L.; B.-S.K.; and S.-C.C.; validation, J.-U.L. formal analysis, J.-U.L. and B.-S.K.; investigation, B.-S.S.; resources, J.-U.L. and P.C.L.; data curation, J.-U.L.; B.-S.K. and S.-C.C.; writing—original draft preparation, J.-U.L., B.-S.K. and S.-C.C.; writing—review and editing, P.C.L.; B.-S.S.; visualization, J.-U.L., P.C.L.; supervision, P.C.L, B.-S.S.; project administration, P.C.L.; B.-S.S.; funding acquisition, P.C.L.; B.-S.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Bo-Sung Shin or Patrick C. Lee.

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Lee, JU., Kang, BS., Cho, SC. et al. Facile Fabrication of Highly Flexible and Sensitive Strain Sensors Based on UV-laser-reduced Graphene Oxide with CuO Nanoparticles for Human Health Monitoring. Int. J. of Precis. Eng. and Manuf.-Green Tech. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40684-024-00632-w

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