Low-Temperature Wearable Strain Sensor Based on a Silver Nanowires/Graphene Composite with a Near-Zero Temperature Coefficient of Resistance
Shicong Niu, Xueting Chang, Zhihao Zhu, Zhiwei Qin, Junfeng Li, Yingchang Jiang, Dongsheng Wang, Chuanxiao Yang, Yang Gao, Shibin Sun
Abstract
Currently, the exploration of wearable strain sensors that can work under subzero temperatures while simultaneously possessing anti-interference capability toward temperature is still a grand challenge. Herein, we present a low-temperature wearable strain sensor that is constructed via the incorporation of a Ag nanowires/graphene (Ag NWs/G) composite into the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) polymer. The Ag NWs/G/PDMS strain sensor exhibits promising flexibility at a very low temperature (-40 °C), outstanding fatigue resistance with low hysteresis energy, and near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). The Ag NWs/G/PDMS strain sensor shows excellent sensing performance under subzero temperatures with a very high gauge factor of 9156 under a strain of >36%, accompanied by a noninterference characteristic to temperature (-40 to 20 °C). The Ag NWs/G/PDMS strain sensor also demonstrates the feasibility of monitoring various human movements such as finger bending, arm waving, wrist rotation, and knee bending under both room temperature and low-temperature conditions. This work initiates a new promising strategy to construct next-generation wearable strain sensors that can work stably and effectively under very low temperatures.