Research on pressure sensor based on MXene/protein nanocomposite

Flexible, breathable, and degradable pressure sensors with excellent sensing performance continue to attract huge attention in the fields of wearable devices, health monitoring, and artificial intelligence
.

This type of pressure sensor is not only lightweight and flexible, but also conducive to reducing electronic waste and can have a positive impact on environmental protection

Zhang Liqun and Wan Pengbo of Beijing University of Chemical Technology and others published articles reporting a wearable, breathable, degradable and highly sensitive MXene/protein nanocomposite-based pressure sensor
.

This sensor exhibits very excellent device performance.

　

1.
Preparation of pressure sensor based on MXene/protein nanocomposite

As shown in Figure 1, this pressure sensor is assembled from two parts, one part is MXene-silk fibroin (MXene-SF) film (as the sensing layer), and the other part is MXene ink-SF (MXene ink- SF) Dressing electrode (as electrode layer)
.

For the MXene-SF film, the researchers first degummed the cocoons, dialysis and other treatments to obtain the regenerated silk film, and then used the electrospinning method to prepare the SF nanofiber film with a porous structure and a high degree of flexibility

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the preparation of MXene/protein nanocomposite based pressure sensor

2.
Sensing performance inspection

This pressure sensor is a piezoresistive sensor, the contact resistance between the membrane and the electrode can be changed in response to external pressure
.

The applied pressure can produce a slight compression deformation between the membrane and the electrode, resulting in more contact area and conductive paths between the two, thereby increasing the induced current and achieving pressure sensing performance

　　Figure 2 Sensing performance of pressure sensor

　　Third, monitor human activity

　　With excellent stability and sensing performance, researchers then applied the sensor to detect physiological signals and motion signals of the human body
.

In Figure 3a, when the sensor is equipped on the finger, it can remotely monitor the bending degree of the finger through the current change

　　

　　Figure 3 Application of pressure sensors in monitoring human activity

　　Finally, in order to evaluate the degradability of the sensor, the researchers placed the device in a 0.
1 mol/L sodium hydroxide solution
.

Studies have shown that the device can undergo autocatalytic hydrolysis and bulk degradation behavior within 9 days, and the weight loss can reach about 50%

　　in conclusion

　　The research designed and prepared a breathable, degradable, and sensitive full-fiber structure MXene/protein nanocomposite based piezoresistive sensor
.

This flexible sensor has a high specific surface area, adjustable sensitivity, and adjustable contact area, so it shows great advantages in terms of sensitivity, sensing range, response/recovery time, and cycle stability