High-performance flexible piezoelectric sensors based on honeycomb graphene macro-film exploiting auxetic mechanical property

Abstract

Flexible piezoelectric sensors have received widespread attention in wearable electronics for their ability to convert mechanical energy into electrical energy, while the insufficient output power and complex preparation process have limited their application. In this work, several honeycomb structures based on graphene macro-film (GAMF) were created via laser engraving, which can utilize negative Poisson’s ratio (NPR) properties to improve the output electric performance of flexible piezoelectric sensors. The effect of different electrode materials on the piezoelectric output was investigated in the experiments and compared with the theoretical equations, indicating that the output power of the sensor could be enhanced up to 142 % by improving the materials auxetic mechanical properties. The stability tests have proven that the sensors can operate effectively for a long time under different operating conditions. Moreover, the optimized sensor shows powerful potential for monitoring human movements such as finger tapping, joint bending, and foot stepping. This work opens up a new development path for the preparation of convenient and high-performance wearable electronic devices.