Flexible and Highly Sensitive Humidity Sensor Based on Sandwich-Like Ag/Fe3O4 Nanowires Composite for Multiple Dynamic Monitoring

Maojiang Zhang; Minglei Wang; Mingxing Zhang; Long Qiu; Yinjie Liu; Wenli Zhang; Yumei Zhang; Jiangtao Hu; Guozhong Wu

doi:10.3390/nano9101399

Flexible and Highly Sensitive Humidity Sensor Based on Sandwich-Like Ag/Fe₃O₄ Nanowires Composite for Multiple Dynamic Monitoring

Nanomaterials (Basel). 2019 Oct 1;9(10):1399. doi: 10.3390/nano9101399.

Authors

Maojiang Zhang^{1

2

3}, Minglei Wang^{4

5}, Mingxing Zhang^{6

7}, Long Qiu⁸, Yinjie Liu⁹, Wenli Zhang^{10

11}, Yumei Zhang¹², Jiangtao Hu¹³, Guozhong Wu^{14

15}

Affiliations

¹ CAS Center for Excellence on TMSR Energy System, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 2019 Jialuo Road, Jiading District, Shanghai 201800, China. zhangmaojiang@sinap.ac.cn.
² School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. zhangmaojiang@sinap.ac.cn.
³ School of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai 200031, China. zhangmaojiang@sinap.ac.cn.
⁴ CAS Center for Excellence on TMSR Energy System, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 2019 Jialuo Road, Jiading District, Shanghai 201800, China. wangminglei@sinap.ac.cn.
⁵ School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. wangminglei@sinap.ac.cn.
⁶ CAS Center for Excellence on TMSR Energy System, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 2019 Jialuo Road, Jiading District, Shanghai 201800, China. zhangmingxing@sinap.ac.cn.
⁷ School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. zhangmingxing@sinap.ac.cn.
⁸ CAS Center for Excellence on TMSR Energy System, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 2019 Jialuo Road, Jiading District, Shanghai 201800, China. qiulong@sinap.ac.cn.
⁹ CAS Center for Excellence on TMSR Energy System, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 2019 Jialuo Road, Jiading District, Shanghai 201800, China. liuyinjie@sinap.ac.cn.
¹⁰ CAS Center for Excellence on TMSR Energy System, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 2019 Jialuo Road, Jiading District, Shanghai 201800, China. zhangwenli@sinap.ac.cn.
¹¹ School of Nuclear Science and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. zhangwenli@sinap.ac.cn.
¹² State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China. zhangym@dhu.edu.cn.
¹³ CAS Center for Excellence on TMSR Energy System, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 2019 Jialuo Road, Jiading District, Shanghai 201800, China. hujiangtao@sinap.ac.cn.
¹⁴ CAS Center for Excellence on TMSR Energy System, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 2019 Jialuo Road, Jiading District, Shanghai 201800, China. wuguozhong@sinap.ac.cn.
¹⁵ School of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghai Tech University, Shanghai 200031, China. wuguozhong@sinap.ac.cn.

Abstract

Functional textiles with unique functions, including free cutting, embroidery and changeable shape, will be attractive for smart wear of human beings. Herein, we fabricated a sandwich-like humidity sensor made from silver coated one-dimensional magnetite nanowire (Fe₃O₄ NW) arrays which were in situ grown on the surface of modified polypropylene nonwoven fabric via simultaneous radiation induced graft polymerization and co-precipitation. The humidity sensor exhibits an obvious response to the relative humidity (RH) ranging from RH 11% to RH 95% and its response value reaches a maximum of 6600% (ΔI/I₀) at 95% relative humidity (RH). The humidity sensor can be tailored into various shapes and embroidered on its surface without affecting its functionalities. More interesting, the intensity of its response is proportional to the size of the material. These features permit the sensor to be integrated into commercial textiles or a gas mask to accurately monitor a variety of important human activities including respiration, blowing, speaking and perspiration. Moreover, it also can distinguish different human physical conditions by recognizing respiration response patterns. The sandwich-like sensor can be readily integrated with textiles to fabricate promising smart electronics for human healthcare.

Keywords: Fe3O4 nanowire; humidity sensor; respiration monitoring; silver.

Grants and funding

TZ2018004/Science Challenge Project