Digitized Construction of Iontronic Pressure Sensor with Self-Defined Configuration and Widely Regulated Performance

Abstract

Flexible pressure sensors are essential components for wearable smart devices and intelligent systems. Significant progress has been made in this area, reporting on excellent sensor performance and fascinating sensor functionalities. Nevertheless, geometrical and morphological engineering of pressure sensors is usually neglected, which, however, is significant for practical application. Here, we present a digitized manufacturing methodology to construct a new class of iontronic pressure sensors with optionally defined configurations and widely modulated performance. These pressure sensors are composed of self-defined electrode patterns prepared by a screen printing method and highly tunable pressure-sensitive microstructures fabricated using 3D printed templates. Importantly, the iontronic pressure sensors employ an iontronic capacitive sensing mechanism based on mechanically regulating the electrical double layer at the electrolyte/electrode interfaces. The resultant pressure sensors exhibit high sensitivity (58 kPa−1), fast response/recovery time (45 ms/75 ms), low detectability (6.64 Pa), and good repeatability (2000 cycles). Moreover, our pressure sensors show remarkable tunability and adaptability in device configuration and performance, which is challenging to achieve via conventional manufacturing processes. The promising applications of these iontronic pressure sensors in monitoring various human physiological activities, fabricating flexible electronic skin, and resolving the force variation during manipulation of an object with a robotic hand are successfully demonstrated.

Recent advances in wearable iontronic sensors for healthcare applications

“…The capacitive pressure sensor section (the upper section) of Table 2 summarizes the recent IPSs modified through the mentioned approaches. These advancements not only elevated sensor performances but also expanded their applications in healthcare monitoring, enabling IPSs to monitor pulse waves or movements like locomotion ( Xu et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2022a ).…”

A Transparent Hydrogel-Ionic Conductor with High Water Retention and Self-Healing Ability

“…Recently, interest in devices operated by ionic currents or ionics has considerably increased [1][2][3]. Since various processes in biological systems, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis [4][5][6], neural transmission [7][8][9], and cell-to-cell communication [10][11][12], are driven by ionic current, ionics can form a seamless bio-interface without the need for electronic-to-ionic current conversion [13], in contrast to conventional devices operated by electronic currents. Due to these advantages, the concept of ionics is attracting much attention, especially for wearable and implantable devices.…”

Construction of Wearable Touch Sensors by Mimicking the Properties of Materials and Structures in Nature

“…In addition, wearable touch sensors can be used to detect the vital signs (e.g., pulse signal, heart rate, respiration, speech, joint movements, etc.) related to human health conditions [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], making them indispensable for wearable health monitoring and personal healthcare in the future [ 13 , 14 ]. Flexible touch sensors have made considerable advancements in recent years, reporting on ultrahigh device performance (e.g., high sensitivity, broad working range, fast response, low detection limit, low power consumption, etc.)…”