A novel
porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based capacitive pressure
sensor was fabricated by optimizing the dielectric layer porosity
for wide-range pressure sensing applications in the sports field.
The pressure sensor consists of a porous PDMS dielectric layer and
two fabric-based conductive electrodes. The porous PDMS dielectric
layer was fabricated by introducing nitric acid (HNO3)
into a mixture of PDMS and sodium hydrogen bicarbonate (NaHCO3) to facilitate the liberation of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas, which induces the creation of porous microstructures within
the PDMS dielectric layer. Nine different pressure sensors (PS1, PS2,...,
PS9) were fabricated in which the porosity (pore size, thickness)
and dielectric constant of the PDMS dielectric layers were varied
by changing the curing temperature, the mixing proportions of the
HNO3/PDMS concentration, and the PDMS mixing ratio. The
response of the fabricated pressure sensors was investigated for the
applied pressures ranging from 0 to 1000 kPa. A relative capacitance
change of ∼100, ∼323, and ∼485% was obtained
by increasing the curing temperature from 110 to 140 to 170 °C,
respectively. Similarly, a relative capacitance change of ∼170,
∼282, and ∼323% was obtained by increasing the HNO3/PDMS concentration from 10 to 15 to 20%, respectively. In
addition, a relative capacitance change of ∼94, ∼323,
and ∼460% was obtained by increasing the PDMS elastomer base/curing
agent ratio from 5:1 to 10:1 to 15:1, respectively. PS9 exhibited
the highest sensitivity over a wide pressure sensing range (low-pressure
ranges (<50 Pa), 0.3 kPa–1; high-pressure ranges
(0.2–1 MPa), 3.2 MPa–1). From the results,
it was observed that the pressure sensors with dielectric layers prepared
at relatively higher curing temperatures, higher HNO3 concentrations,
and higher PDMS ratios resulted in increased porosity and provided
the highest sensitivity. As an application demonstrator, a wearable
fit cap was developed using an array of 16 pressure sensors for measuring
and mapping the applied pressures on a player’s head while
wearing a helmet. The pressure mapping aids in observing and understanding
the proper fit of the helmet in sports applications.
This work presents a more realistic study on the potential
of titanium
carbide MXene (Ti3C2T
x
) for gas sensing, by employing first principle calculations.
The effects of different ratios of different functional groups on
the adsorption of NH3, NO, NO2, N2O, CO, CO2, CH4, and H2S gas molecules
on Ti3C2T
x
were
analyzed. The results indicated that Ti3C2T
x
is considerably more sensitive to NH3, among the studied gas molecules, with a charge transfer
of −0.098 e and an adsorption energy of −0.36 eV. By
analyzing the electrostatic surface potential (ESP) and the projected
density of states (PDOS), important physical and mechanical properties
that determine the strength and nature of gas-substrate interactions
were investigated, and also, the significant role of electrostatic
effects on the charge transfer mechanism was revealed. Further, the
Bader charge analysis for the closest oxygen and fluorine atoms to
NH3 molecule showed that oxygen atoms have 60% to 180%
larger charge transfer than fluorine atoms, supporting that Ti3C2T
x
substrate with
a relatively lower ratio of fluorine surface terminations has a stronger
interaction with NH3 gas molecules. The calculations show
that in the presence of water molecules, approximately 90% smaller
charge transfer between NH3 molecule and the Ti3C2T
x
occurs. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations (AIMD) were also carried out to evaluate
the thermal stabilities of Mxenes. The comprehensive study presented
in this work provides insights and paves the way for realizing sensitive
NH3 sensors based on Ti3C2T
x
that can be tuned by the ratio of surface termination
groups.
MXenes are an emerging family of two-dimensional (2D) materials which exhibits unique characteristics such as metal-like thermal and electrical conductivity, huge surface area, biocompatibility, low toxicity, excellent electrochemical performance, remarkable chemical stability, antibacterial activity, and hydrophilicity. Initially, MXene materials were synthesized by selectively etching metal layers from MAX phases, layered transition metal carbides, and carbonitrides with hydrofluoric acid. Multiple novel synthesis methods have since been developed for the creation of MXenes with improved surface chemistries using non-aqueous etchants, molten salts, fluoride salts, and various acid halogens. Due to the promising potential of MXenes, they have emerged as attractive 2D materials with applications in various fields such as energy storage, sensing, and biomedical. This review provides a comprehensive overview of MXenes and discusses the synthesis and properties of MXenes, including the methods of etching, delamination, and modification/functionalization, as well as the electrical properties of MXenes. Following this, the recent advances in the development of various MXene-based sensors are presented. Finally, the challenges and opportunities for future research on the development of MXenes-based sensors are discussed.
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