Issue 5, 2015

From cotton to wearable pressure sensor

Abstract

In this work, carbon cottons (CC) with moderate electrical conductive (11 S m−1) were prepared from cotton via a simple pyrolysis process. Flexible and electrical conductive CC/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composites were fabricated by vacuum assisted infusion of PDMS resin into a CC scaffold. Based on the CC/PDMS composites prepared, a simple yet highly sensitive pressure sensor was developed, which shows a maximum sensitivity of 6.04 kPa−1, a wide working pressure up to 700 kPa, a wide response frequency from 0.01 to 5 Hz, and durability over 1000 cycles. Based on our knowledge, the pressure sensitivity of the CC/PDMS sensor is only next to the record value in a pressure sensor (8.4 kPa−1). By integrating the pressure sensor with a sport shoe and waist belt, we demonstrate that the real time sport performance and health condition could be monitored. Notably, the device fabrication process is simple and scalable with low-cost cotton as raw material. The CC/PDMS composites are believed to have promising potential applications in wearable electronic devices such as, human-machine interfacing devices, prosthetic skins, sport performance, and health monitoring.

Graphical abstract: From cotton to wearable pressure sensor

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Oct 2014
Accepted
25 Nov 2014
First published
25 Nov 2014

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015,3, 2181-2187

Author version available

From cotton to wearable pressure sensor

Y. Li, Y. A. Samad and K. Liao, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 2181 DOI: 10.1039/C4TA05810K

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