Screen-printed flexible negative temperature coefficient temperature sensor based on polyvinyl chloride/carbon black composites

Abstract

Flexible temperature sensors are needed for real‐time temperature monitoring in healthcare, disease diagnosis, and ambient environment detection. In this work, a flexible negative temperature coefficient (NTC) temperature sensor based on polyvinyl chloride/carbon black (PVC/CB) was screen printed onto a polyethylene terephthalate substrate. The prepared temperature sensor exhibited high sensitivity (−0.148% °C−1), excellent linearity (R 2 = 0.995), a fast response time (0.7 s), and good repeatability when used to measure temperatures between 18 °C and 44 °C. The tunneling effect was used to explain the NTC of the PVC/CB temperature sensor, and its temperature sensing mechanism was proposed. Additionally, the sensor was used to monitor human breathing rates and temperatures, demonstrating its potential for real‐time skin or environmental temperature monitoring.