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Flexible PDMS-based triboelectric nanogenerator for instantaneous force sensing and human joint movement monitoring

柔性PDMS薄膜摩擦纳米发电机用于监测瞬时力传感和人体关键运动

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Abstract

Flexible wearable sensors with excellent electric response and self-powered capability have become an appealing hotspot for personal healthcare and human—machine interfaces. Here, based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), a flexible self-powered tactile sensor composed of micro-frustum-arrays-structured polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film/copper (Cu) electrodes, and poly(vinylidenefluoride—trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF-TrFE)) nanofibers has been demonstrated. The TENG-based self-powered tactile sensor can generate electrical signals through the contact-separation process of two triboelectric layers under external mechanical stimuli. Due to the uniform and controllable micro-frustum-arrays structure fabricated by micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) process and the P(VDF-TrFE) nanofibers fabricated by electrostatic spinning, the flexible PDMS-based sensor presents high sensitivity of 2.97 V kPa−1, stability of 40,000 cycles (no significant decay), response time of 60 ms at 1 Hz, low detection pressure of a water drop (∼4 Pa, 35 mg) and good linearity of 0.99231 in low pressure region. Since the PDMS film presents ultra-flexibility and excellent-biocompatibility, the sensor can be comfortably attached on human body. Furthermore, the tactile sensor can recognize various types of human body movements by the corresponding electrical signals. Therefore, the as-prepared TENGs are potential on the prospects of gesture detection, health assessment, human-machine interfaces and so on.

摘要

具有出色电学响应和自供电能力的柔性可穿戴传感器已成为个人医疗保健和人机交互领域重要的研究方向. 本文制备了一种基于摩擦纳米发电机的柔性自供电触觉传感器, 由具有微四棱锥台结构的PDMS薄膜、铜电极以及P(VDF-TrFE)纳米纤维组成. 在外部机械力刺激下, 该传感器能通过接触-分离模式直接产生电学信号. MEMS工艺制备的均匀可控的微四棱锥台结构和静电纺丝制备的P(VDF-TrFE)纳米纤维, 使得传感器展现出高灵敏度(2.97 V kPa−1), 高稳定性(超过40000次循环没有衰减) 、快速响应(在1 Hz频率下60 ms)、低压力探测能力(重约35 mg, 压强约为4 Pa的水滴)以及良好的线性度(在低压力区域为0.99231). PDMS薄膜的超柔韧性和优异的生物相容性, 使得传感器能舒适地贴合在人体皮肤上. 此外, 所设计的传感器可以通过判断对应的电学响应信号识别各种人体运动类型. 基于上述优势, 该摩擦纳米发电机有望应用于姿态监测、健康评估以及人机交互等领域.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51605449, 51675493 and 51705476), the National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFF0300605), Shanxi “1331 Project” Key Subject Construction (1331KSC), the Applied Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province (201601D021070) and Zhangjiakou Science and Technology Research and Development Plan of Zhangjiakou City (1811009B-10).

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  1. These authors contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Technology on Electronic Test and Measurement Laboratory, School of Instrument and Electronics, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, China

    Junbin Yu  (余俊斌), Xiaojuan Hou  (侯晓娟), Min Cui  (崔敏), Shuzheng Shi  (石树正), Jian He  (何剑), Chao Wang  (王超) & Xiujian Chou  (丑修建)

  2. School of Mechanical Engineering, Hebei University of Architecture, Zhangjiakou, 075000, China

    Shuzheng Shi  (石树正)

  3. North Information Control Research Academy Group Co., Ltd, Nanjing, 211100, China

    Yawei Sun  (孙雅薇)

Authors
  1. Junbin Yu  (余俊斌)
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  2. Xiaojuan Hou  (侯晓娟)
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  3. Min Cui  (崔敏)
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  5. Jian He  (何剑)
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  6. Yawei Sun  (孙雅薇)
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  7. Chao Wang  (王超)
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  8. Xiujian Chou  (丑修建)
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Contributions

Author contributions Yu J and Hou X designed the devices and experiments; Yu J, Hou X, Cui M and He J performed the experiments; Yu J, Shi S, Sun Y and Wang C analyzed the data; Yu J wrote the paper with support from Hou X and Chou X. All authors contributed to the general discussion. Yu J and Hou X contributed equally to this work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiujian Chou  (丑修建).

Additional information

Conflict of interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Junbin Yu obtained his BSc degree in 2015 from Tianjin University of Technology and Education. Currently he is a PhD student at the Science and Technology on Electronic Test and Measurement Laboratory in the North University of China (NUC). His main research topic is energy harvesting and flexible self-powered sensor system.

Xiujian Chou works at the School of Instrument and Electronics of the NUC. He received his PhD degree majored in material physics and chemistry at Tongji University in 2008. Currently he is engaged in intelligent micro/nano device and micro system.

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Yu, J., Hou, X., Cui, M. et al. Flexible PDMS-based triboelectric nanogenerator for instantaneous force sensing and human joint movement monitoring. Sci. China Mater. 62, 1423–1432 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-019-9446-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-019-9446-1

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