Waterproof and ultrasensitive paper-based wearable strain/pressure sensor from carbon black/multilayer graphene/carboxymethyl cellulose composite

Tongtong Yun; Jian Du; Xingxiang Ji; Yehan Tao; Yi Cheng; Yanna Lv; Jie Lu; Haisong Wang

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120898

Waterproof and ultrasensitive paper-based wearable strain/pressure sensor from carbon black/multilayer graphene/carboxymethyl cellulose composite

Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Aug 1:313:120898. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120898. Epub 2023 Apr 14.

Authors

Tongtong Yun¹, Jian Du², Xingxiang Ji³, Yehan Tao¹, Yi Cheng¹, Yanna Lv¹, Jie Lu¹, Haisong Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ Liaoning Key Lab of Lignocellulose Chemistry and Biomaterials, Liaoning Collaborative Innovation Center for Lignocellulosic Biorefinery, College of Light Industry and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China.
² Liaoning Key Lab of Lignocellulose Chemistry and Biomaterials, Liaoning Collaborative Innovation Center for Lignocellulosic Biorefinery, College of Light Industry and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China; Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Science & Technology of Ministry of Education, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China. Electronic address: dujian01@dlpu.edu.cn.
³ Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Science & Technology of Ministry of Education, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Jinan 250353, China.
⁴ Liaoning Key Lab of Lignocellulose Chemistry and Biomaterials, Liaoning Collaborative Innovation Center for Lignocellulosic Biorefinery, College of Light Industry and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116034, China. Electronic address: wanghs@dlpu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37182981
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120898

Abstract

Huge electronic wastes motivated the flourishing of biodegradable electrically conductive cellulosic paper-based functional materials as flexible wearable devices. However, the relatively low sensitivity and unstable output in combination with poor wet strength under high moisture circumstances impeded the practical application. Herein, a superhydrophobic cellulosic paper with ultrahigh sensitivity was proposed by innovatively employing ionic sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as bridge to reinforce the interfacial interaction between carbon black (CB) and multilayer graphene (MG) and SiO₂ nanoparticles as superhydrophobic layer. The resultant paper-based (PB) sensor displayed excellent strain sensing behaviors, wide working range (-1.0 %-1.0 %), ultrahigh sensitivity (gauge factor, GF = 70.2), and satisfied durability (>10,000 cycles). Moreover, the superhydrophobic surface offered well waterproof and self-cleaning properties, even stable running data without encapsulation under extremely high moisture conditions. Impressively, when the fabricated PB sensor was applied for electronic-skin (E-skin), the signal capture of spatial strain of E-skin upon bodily motion was breezily achieved. Thus, our work not only provides a new pathway for reinforcing the interfacial interaction of electrically conductive carbonaceous materials, but also promises a category of unprecedentedly superhydrophobic cellulosic paper-based strain sensors with ultra-sensitivity in human-machine interfaces field.

Keywords: Bodily motion detection; Carboxymethyl cellulose; Cellulosic paper; Superhydrophobic; Wearable strain sensor.