Zinc oxide nanostructure-based textile pressure sensor for wearable applications

Abstract

Wearable textile pressure sensors with piezoelectric properties are a very effective way of detecting movements of the human body based on the force exerted by the sensor. Owing to the merits of flexibility and breathability, the textile pressure sensor finds potential application in biomedical monitoring and human-machine interaction. The textile pressure sensor works on the principle of piezoelectricity where an electrode of conductive woven fabric forms the outer layer and a semi-conductive material such as ZnO is sandwiched between two conductive layers. ZnO is prepared using a simple hydrothermal method and SEM, XRD are two effective methods to detect the presence of ZnO on the conductive fabric. The pressure applied on the fabric is translated into voltage and the output voltages are compared using two samples of ZnO nanostructures. The effect of the seed layer is investigated under identical growth and measurement which influences the output performance of voltage. This property can be used to change the sensitivity and working range of pressure sensor for specific applications. The pressure sensor designed can be sewn directly onto the clothing which conforms to the human body’s flexible curved surface.