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Electrospun PEO/PEDOT:PSS Nanofibers for Wearable Physiological Flex Sensors.

ABSTRACT: Flexible sensors are fundamental devices for human body monitoring. The mechanical strain and physiological parameters coupled sensing have attracted increasing interest in this field. However, integration of different sensors in one platform usually involves complex fabrication process-flows. Simplification, even if essential, remains a challenge. Here, we investigate a piezoresistive and electrochemical active electrospun nanofibers (NFs) mat as the sensitive element of the wearable physiological flex sensing platform. The use of one material sensitive to the two kinds of stimuli reduces the process-flow to two steps. We demonstrate that the final NFs pH-Flex Sensor can be used to monitor the deformation of a human body joint as well as the pH of the skin. A unique approach has been selected for pH sensing, based on Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS). A linear dependence of the both the double layer capacitance and charge transfer re-sistance with the pH value was obtained by EIS, as well as a linear trend of the electrical resistance with the bending deformation. Gauge factors values calculated after the bending test were 45.84 in traction and 208.55 in compression mode, reflecting the extraordinary piezoresistive behavior of our nanostructured NFs.

SUBMITTER: Verpoorten E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8232244 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Wearable mechanical sensors have the potential to transform healthcare by enabling patient monitoring outside of the clinic. A critical challenge in the development of mechanical-e.g., strain-sensors is the combination of sensitivity, dynamic range, and robustness. This work describes a highly sensitive and robust wearable strain sensor composed of three layered materials: graphene, an ultrathin film of palladium, and highly plasticized PEDOT:PSS. The role of the graphene is to provide a conductive, manipulable substrate for the deposition of palladium. When deposited at low nominal thicknesses (~8 nm) palladium forms a rough, granular film which is highly piezoresistive (i.e., the resistance increases with strain with high sensitivity). The dynamic range of these graphene/palladium films, however, is poor, and can only be extended to ~10% before failure. This fragility renders the films incompatible with wearable applications on stretchable substrates. To improve the working range of graphene/palladium strain sensors, a layer of highly plasticized PEDOT:PSS is used as a stretchable conductive binder. That is, the conductive polymer provides an alternative pathway for electrical conduction upon cracking of the palladium film and the graphene. The result was a strain sensor that possessed good sensitivity at low strains (0.001% engineering strain) but with a working range up to 86%. The piezoresistive performance can be optimized in a wearable device by sandwiching the conductive composite between a soft PDMS layer in contact with the skin and a harder layer at the air interface. When attached to the skin of the torso, the patch-like strain sensors were capable of detecting heartbeat (small strain) and respiration (large strain) simultaneously. This demonstration highlights the ability of the sensor to measure low and high strains in a single interpolated signal, which could be useful in monitoring, for example, obstructive sleep apnea with an unobtrusive device.

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Electrospun PEO/PEDOT:PSS Nanofibers for Wearable Physiological Flex Sensors.

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