A highly aligned microgrid structure for wearable nanofibrous sensors with an enhanced sensitivity and detection range

Abstract

Interface features are of great significance to mainstream piezoresistive sensors. Various novel hierarchical microstructures (HMs) are developed to improve the sensitivity, limit and detection range, however, the fabrication of highly uniform and ordered HMs using a high-efficiency and low-cost strategy is still a challenge. In this work, couple techniques of template-based electrospinning and coating were used to prepare a novel pressure sensing platform that features Ag/Ti₃C₂T_x (MXene)-modified grid-like polyurethane (PU) nanofibers sandwiched between the encapsulation layer and interdigital electrodes. The resulting nanofibrous sensor possesses high pressure sensitivity (15.3 kPa⁻¹), a low limit (1 Pa), a broad detection range (0–40 kPa) and excellent stability over 1000 loading/unloading index cycles. Meanwhile, owing to the ultrathin, ultralight, and ultraflexible peculiarities, it can robustly conform to non-irregular surfaces and maintain fine interfacing. In several conceptual displays, we demonstrate that it has outstanding response properties of human motion in a full range. An assembled tactile array can be further used to detect the pressure stimulation of objects in the spatial area by force mapping. All these indicate the potential of prepared membrane-based sensors in wearable body monitoring and human–computer interfaces.