Fabricating Flexible Strain Sensor with Direct Writing Graphene/Carbon Nanotube Aerogel
Chen Chen, Fuqiang Chu, Yang Zhang, Mengdi Ma, Rui Sun, Peng Jia, Jiazhen Sun
Abstract
Flexible strain sensor has wide applications in wearable devices and human–computer interaction. These sensors exhibit a flexible performance, which makes the structure of the device adapt to a wide range of application scenarios. This work proposes a low-cost and accurate direct writing method to fabricate a three-dimensional graphene/carbon nanotube strain sensor by using prepared printing ink with good dispersion, extruding ordered lamellae, and controlling porous aerogel structure. The morphology of the prepared three-dimensional porous aerogel was controlled with the ice template method. The strain sensor could be obtained by encapsulating the PDMS precursor, which shows high stretchability with a sensitivity of 18.55 at a 20% tensile strain. It offers good stability after 900 times of repeated stretching under 20% strain. This study of fabricating flexible strain sensors could provide a facile and effective way to apply intelligent packaging and wearable electronic devices.