Abstract
This paper details the design of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-shielded waterproof crack-based stretchable strain sensor, in which the electrical characteristics and sensing performance are not influenced by changes in humidity. This results in a higher number of potential applications for the sensor. A previously developed omni-purpose stretchable strain (OPSS) sensor was used as the basis for this work, which utilizes a metal cracking structure and provides a wide sensing range and high sensitivity. Changes in the conductivity of the OPSS sensor, based on humidity conditions, were investigated along with the potential possibility of using the design as a humidity sensor. However, to prevent conductivity variation, which can decrease the reliability and sensing ability of the OPSS sensor, PDMS was utilized as a shielding layer over the OPSS sensor. The PDMS-shielded OPSS sensor showed approximately the same electrical characteristics as previous designs, including in a high humidity environment, while maintaining its strain sensing capabilities. The developed sensor shows promise for use under high humidity conditions and in underwater applications. Therefore, considering its unique features and reliable sensing performance, the developed PDMS-shielded waterproof OPSS sensor has potential utility in a wide range of applications, such as motion monitoring, medical robotics and wearable healthcare devices.
Highlights
IntroductionSkin mountable or wearable electronic devices have recently grown in popularity due to their numerous advantages in the context of human–machine interactions [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]
The results showed that the conductivity of the original omni-purpose stretchable strain (OPSS) sensor with a cracking structure increases as the surrounding humidity increases
This is due to the formation of condensed droplets under high humidity conditions, which creates new pathways for current to pass through
Summary
Skin mountable or wearable electronic devices have recently grown in popularity due to their numerous advantages in the context of human–machine interactions [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]. A crucial component has been the development of flexible and stretchable strain sensors that have the ability to detect human motion when attached directly to the skin; this has been the focus of many studies [3,13,14,25]. A range of materials and structures have been investigated for use as flexible and stretchable strain sensors, including metallic thin film [1,2,3,4], nanoparticles [5,6], nanowires [7,8,9,10,11,12], carbon nanotubes [13,14,15,16,17,18,19], carbon black [20,21,22,23] and graphene [24,25]. Significant research effort has resulted in the development of various flexible and stretchable sensors with excellent performance and features, especially in terms of their sensing range and gauge factor.
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