MXene-Deposited Melamine Foam-Based Iontronic Pressure Sensors for Wearable Electronics and Smart Numpads.

Abstract

Iontronic pressure sensors hold significant potential to emerge as vital components in the field of flexible and wearable electronics, addressing a variety of applications spanning wearable technology, health monitoring systems, and human-machine interactions. This study introduces a novel iontronic pressure sensor structure based on a seamlessly deposited Ti3C2Tx MXene layer onto highly porous melamine foam as parallel plate electrodes and an ionically conductive electrolyte of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide/thermoplastic polyurethane coupled with carbon cloth as current collecting layers for improved sensitivity and high mechanical stability of more than 7000 cycles. MXene-deposited melamine foam-based iontronic pressure sensors (MIPS) showed a high sensitivity of 5.067 kPa-1 in the range of 45-60kPa and a fast response/recovery time of 28/18ms, respectively. The high sensitivity, high mechanical stability, and fast response/recovery time of the designed sensor make them highly promising candidates for real-time body motion monitoring. Moreover, sensors are employed as a smart numpad for integration into advanced ATM security systems utilizing machine learning algorithms. This research marks a significant advance in iontronic pressure sensor technology, offering promising avenues for application in wearable electronics and security systems.