Mechanical behavior of strain sensors based on PEDOT:PSS and silver nanoparticles inks deposited on polymer substrate by inkjet printing

Abstract

a b s t r a c tRecently, inkjet printing technology has received growing attention as a method to produce low-cost large-area electronics, sensors, and antennas on polymer substrates. This technology relies on printing techniques to deposit electrically functional materials onto polymer substrates to fabricate electronic components or sensing elements. In this paper, we applied an inkjet printed technology for the development and characterization of films on a polymer substrate aiming at giving design considerations for the optimization of strain sensors or printed electronics obtained by inkjet printing. Two inks were tested over a polyimide substrate, a water-based conductive polymer, PEDOT:PSS, and a silver nanoparticles ink. Their sensing capabilities were investigated under tensile conditions and various strain histories (strain ramp; cyclic loading-unloading tests; application of constant strain over prolonged time) aiming at highlighting the correlation between electrical response, applied strain, time and mechanical histories. Furthermore, the mechanical viscoelastic response of the substrate was investigated under similar strain histories interpreting the results at the light of the substrate deformational characteristics and evaluating its influence.

Multisensor System for Analyzing the Thigh Movement During Walking

“…These results are in accordance with the results reported by Vipin et al [22]. Like for polymer-based resistive sensors [23,24], we can suppose that the resistance is affected by the stress relaxation of the materials and by the viscoelastic effects, mainly in the first cycles.…”

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“…While this effect makes for higher gauge factors, it is also a cause for hysteresis effects and drift in the absolute value of the strain gauges. Drift is said to be the result of permanent cracks in the conductive track on the microscale (Borghetti et al, 2016;Song et al, 2017;Boland et al, 2014).…”

All-printed strain sensors: Building blocks of the aircraft structural health monitoring system

“…On the contrary, inkjet printing is a mask-less method in which moving nozzles deposit ink drops on demand based on pattern design. The ability to print complex patterns with high spatial resolution and excellent printing consistency allows inkjet printing to be used as a rapid prototyping tool for printed electronics [10]. However, the inks for inkjet printing are currently limited to nanoparticle (NP)-based solutions due to the compatibility issue between nozzle and ink which often causes nozzle clogging [5].…”

“…Bruno explored a cost-effective method to make prototype strain sensors using inkjet printing [5]. Borghetti studied mechanical behaviors of PEDOT:PSS and silver NP strain sensors on a polyimide substrate [10]. However, none of these studies reported the mechanical reliability (i.e.…”