Arrayed multi-layer piezoelectric sensor based on electrospun P(VDF-TrFE)/ZnO with enhanced piezoelectricity

Abstract

Flexible pressure sensors can maintain good pressure sensing capabilities even under arbitrary degrees of deformation, which are widely used in fields such as robotic perception, physiological signal detection and wearable electronics. Currently, piezoelectric-based flexible pressure sensors face significant limitations in terms of large-area, high-sensitivity, and high-resolution pressure detection. Targeted research efforts primarily focus on enhancing the performance of piezoelectric sensors by optimizing the properties of the sensitive layer piezoelectric material and modulating device structural design. This study introduces a novel multilayer array design for flexible composite piezoelectric sensors. A high-voltage electrospinning selective deposition process is proposed to fabricate arrayed nanofiber mats. Patterned electrospun films can be automatically patterned by patterned AgNW electrodes, which allows manual alignment of patterns for subsequent stacking. Compared to sensor based on P(VDF-TrFE) prepared under the same conditions, the sensitivity of the multi-layer P(VDF-TrFE)/ZnO sensor increased from 2.82 mV/kPa to 8.30 mV/kPa, providing an effective approach for highly sensitivity wearable devices with short response time (∼5 ms).