Green solvent approach for printable large deformation thermoplastic elastomer based piezoresistive sensors and their suitability for biomedical applications

Composites based on biocompatible thermoplastic elastomer styrene‐ethylene/butylene‐styrene (SEBS) as matrix and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) as nanofillers show excellent mechanical and piezoresistive properties from low to large deformations. The MWCNT/SEBS composites have been prepared following a green solvent approach, to extend their range of applicability to biomedical applications. The obtained composites with 2, 4, and 5 wt % MWCNT content provide suitable piezoresistive response up to 80% deformation with a piezoresistive sensibility near 2.7, depending on the applied strain and MWCNT content. Composite sensors were also developed by spray and screen printing and integrated with an electronic data acquisition system with RF communication. The possibility to accurately control the composites properties and performance by varying MWCNT content, viscosity, and mechanical properties of the polymer matrix, shows the large potential of the system for the development of large deformation printable piezoresistive sensors. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 2092–2103     

溶液法制备柔性压阻式传感器的研究进展

柔性压阻式传感器具有结构简单、易于制备、检测范围广等优势, 在可穿戴电子器件领域中扮演着非常重要的角色. 在制备柔性压阻式传感器的众多方法中, 溶液法由于操作简单、反应条件温和、材料的适用性广泛、易于规模化制备等优势, 成为极具发展前景的制备工艺. 在此基础上, 如何进一步提高柔性压阻式传感器的力学与电学性能也成为研究者们更加关注的话题. 另外, 制备图案化、微型化、规模化的传感器阵列为柔性压阻式传感器的应用范围拓展了新的道路. 本综述首先介绍了柔性压阻式传感器的工作原理与性能指标, 同时讨论了其性能指标对传感器在实际应用中的影响. 随后, 简单介绍了其构成材料, 并通过梳理近年来溶液法制备柔性传感器的研究成果, 选取了几种典型的溶液法制备方法进行重点介绍, 指出其具备的优势及目前存在的问题. 最后, 对溶液法制备柔性传感器的发展方向进行总结与展望.     

基于MEMS压阻传感器的低功耗高过载测试系统设计

为了检验弹体在高冲击环境下的工作情况,提出了一种基于压阻传感器的高过载、低功耗的测试系统设计方案。该系统可承受2×105g的过载冲击测试,且具有采样率高、体积小、功耗低的特点。通过打靶实验验证:在过载测试过程中该系统具有承受高冲击的能力,并能精确地采集到信号微弱变化,保证了弹体在飞行中记录数据的准确性。     

多壁碳纳米管薄膜的压阻效应研究

对多壁碳纳米管薄膜的压阻效应进行了研究. 实验所用的多壁碳纳米管用热灯丝化学气相沉积法合成, 压阻效应用三点弯曲法测量. 研究发现: 在室温下与500微应变内, 原始的多壁碳纳米管薄膜无明显压阻效应, 而经化学修饰处理的碳纳米管膜的压阻因子最高可达120左右, 大大超过多晶硅(Si)在35°C时的压阻因子30, 并且压阻因子与制备方法密切相关. 重点讨论了多壁碳纳米管薄膜产生压阻效应的机制.     

Static and dynamic response of a multiplexed-array piezoresistive contact sensor

Multiplexed piezoresistive sensor arrays hold great potential for measuring contact stress distributions for orthopedic research applications. However, their acceptance has been handicapped by output drift and the fact that their dynamic response has not been well characterized. In this report, the static and dynamic responses of one device of this class (the K-Scan piezoresistive contact stress sensor) are formally characterized using a specially made pressure vessel that provides spatially homogeneous contact stress. Drift was predominant early in static loading, reaching relationtive errors of approximately 30 percent over a 10-min period. During loading, first-order dynamic analysis showed that the time constant (and time lag) was nearly zero and there was little attenuation of the output up to 20 Hz. A deconvolution algorithm proved capable of compensating for the great majority of static drift.     

Spiky nanostructured metal particles as filler of polymeric composites showing tunable electrical conductivity

This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the piezoresistive response of a composite material based on conductive nickel filler in a silicone‐insulating matrix. In the absence of a deformation, the prepared composite shows no electric conductivity, even though the metal particle content is well above the expected percolation threshold. Upon samples deformation (compressive or tensile stress), the composite exploits a variation of electrical resistance up to nine orders of magnitude. This huge variation can be explained with the quantum tunnelling mechanism where the probability of an electron to tunnel from a particle to the next one is exponentially proportional to the thickness of the insulating layer between them and strongly enhanced by the morphology of the nickel particles, showing spiky nanostructured tips. Two different conduction theoretical models are proposed and compared with the experimental results. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

PIEZORESISTIVE SENSING MECHANISM AND PIEZORESISTIVE PERFORMANCE OF IN-PLANE RANDOM STACKED GRAPHENE COMPOSITES 1)

面内随机堆叠石墨烯复合材料(graphene composites, GC)是可穿戴柔性传感器的基础材料之一, 但是其压阻传感机理与压阻性能仍然有待深入研究. 本文基于GC的微观结构特征, 利用0 $\sim$ 1间均匀分布随机数获得石墨烯在复合材料中的位置和方向, 建立了二维GC压阻传感器模型. 根据GC均匀变形的特点和有限单元法发展了GC压阻性能的计算方法, 计算得到了相对电阻、灵敏度系数、石墨烯片的微观形态与电流密度云图. 研究结果表明, GC中的压阻效应是由于在变形过程中石墨烯形态的改变, 包括GC中石墨烯片的密度随应变变化、石墨烯片滑移、分离导致电子迁移路径和无效片数量的改变, 而GC中石墨烯片密度随应变的变化是影响压阻效应的主要因素. 石墨烯片间的相对滑移产生线性传感特征, 分离反之. 高面分比GC与大尺寸石墨烯的GC拥有较大的感知范围, 低面分比GC和小尺寸石墨烯的GC具有更高的灵敏度系数. 最后将接触面的面内电阻率设为应变的函数, 研究了石墨烯片的接触效应对GC压阻性能影响, 解释了GC压阻性能的接触效应和影响机理. 研究结论可为GC生产方法的改进与创新、以及GC压阻传感器件的制备提供理论依据和技术参考.     

冻融循环下导电混凝土压阻效应的稳定性研究

以碳纤维、石墨为导电相材料, 掺入粉煤灰和硅灰制备导电混凝土, 研究了粉煤灰、硅灰的掺量对导电混凝土抗冻融性能的影响, 定义了压阻效应稳定性的指标, 探究了压阻效应稳定性随冻融循环的变化规律, 建立了导电混凝土在冻融循环下的电阻率演化模型和压阻效应稳定性模型. 研究结果表明: 在导电混凝土中加入粉煤灰、硅灰可有效提高其抗冻融能力; 当粉煤灰、硅灰总掺量相同时, 较高掺量的粉煤灰可以提升导电混凝土压阻效应的稳定性.     

Theoretical study of electromechanical property in a p-type silicon nanoplate for mechanical sensors

Electromechanical property of a p-type single-crystal silicon nanoplate is modelled by a microscopic approach where the hole quantization effect and the spin-orbit coupling effect are taken into account. The visible anisotropic subband structures are calculated by solving self-consistently the stress-dependent 6×6 k.p Schrodinger equation with the Poisson equation. The strong mixing among heavy, light, and split-off holes is quantitatively assessed. The influences of the thickness and the temperature on the piezoresistive coefficient are quantitatively investigated by using the hole concentrations and the effective masses from the complex dispersion structure of the valence band with and without stresses. Our results show that the stress determines the extent to which the band is mixed. The hole quantization effect increases as the thickness decreases, and therefore the valence band is strongly reshaped, resulting in the size-dependent piezoresistivity of the silicon nanoplate. The piezoresistive coefficient increases almost 4 times as the thickness reduces from the bulk to 3 nm, exhibiting a promising application in mechanical sensors.