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Self-Healing, Highly Sensitive Electronic Sensors Enabled by Metal–Ligand Coordination and Hierarchical Structure Design
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posted on 2017-05-24, 00:00 authored by Yangyang Han, Xiaodong Wu, Xinxing Zhang, Canhui LuElectronic sensors
capable of capturing mechanical deformation are highly desirable for
the next generation of artificial intelligence products. However,
it remains a challenge to prepare self-healing, highly sensitive,
and cost-efficient sensors for both tiny and large human motion monitoring.
Here, a new kind of self-healing, sensitive, and versatile strain
sensors has been developed by combining metal–ligand chemistry
with hierarchical structure design. Specifically, a self-healing and
nanostructured conductive layer is deposited onto a self-healing elastomer
substrate cross-linked by metal–ligand coordinate bonds, forming
a hierarchically structured sensor. The resultant sensors exhibit
high sensitivity, low detection limit (0.05% strain), remarkable self-healing
capability, as well as excellent reproducibility. Notably, the self-healed
sensors are still capable to precisely capture not only tiny physiological
activities (such as speech, swallowing, and coughing) but also large
human motions (finger and neck bending, touching). Moreover, harsh
treatments, including bending over 50000 times and mechanical washing,
could not influence the sensitivity and stability of the self-healed
sensors in human motion monitoring. This proposed strategy via alliance
of metal–ligand chemistry and hierarchical structure design
represents a general approach to manufacturing self-healing, robust
sensors, and other electronic devices.