Design of a self-powered and superhydrophobic-pressure sensor with stable human motion monitoring

Abstract

Wearable pressure sensors are crucial for personal health monitoring and human motion detection. However, these sensors face challenges in maintaining long-term and stable sensing performance under harsh conditions, such as a lack of external power supply and exposure to wetting environments. Herein, we integrated a stable self-powered and superhydrophobic-pressure sensor (SSPS) with long drum-like assembled structures, which consists of a dual Merkel's disk pressure sensor and superhydrophobic triboelectric–electromagnetic hybrid system. By leveraging both triboelectric and electromagnetic technologies, the SSPS ensures reliable power generation through magnetization effects, and a superhydrophobic protective layer enables stable power generation in wetting environments. Importantly, the SSPS simultaneously achieves effective pressure sensing and self-power supply under vertical stress, while maintaining stable performance and excellent adaptability to human gait detection even under harsh conditions. Our design strategy guides the development of wearable sensor materials for long-term sensing performance under harsh operating conditions.