Screen-Printed Resistive Pressure Sensors Containing Graphene Nanoplatelets and Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

Polymer composites with nanomaterials such as graphene nanoplatelets and carbon nanotubes are a new group of materials with high application possibilities in printed and flexible electronics. In this study such carbon nanomaterials were used as a conductive phase in polymer composites. Pastes with dispersed nanomaterials in PMMA and PVDF vehicles were screen printed on flexible substrates, and used as an active layer in pressure sensors, exploiting contact resistance phenomena. The relationship between resistance and pressure is nearly linear on a logarithmic scale for selected types of samples, and their response is several times higher than for similar sensors with graphite layers. The use of surfactants allowed us to fabricate evenly dispersed nanomaterials with different amount of nanoplatelets and nanotubes in the composites. The samples contained from 1.25 wt.% to 2 wt.% of graphene and 1 wt.% to 0.5 wt.% of nanotubes and exhibited diverse sheet resistivity. Experiments revealed the relationship between morphology and loading of functional phase in the polymer matrix and the sensors' sensitivity.

Pressured liquid metal screen printing for rapid manufacture of high resolution electronic patterns

“…Various kinds of printing methods such as lithographically controlled wetting (LCW), 1-3 stencil printing, 4,5 inkjet printing, 6 screen printing, 7,8 direct-write printing, 9,10 micro contact printing, 11 etc. The inks used in the screen printing method usually include ZnO nanoparticles, 21 silver paste, 22,23 graphene, 12 carbon nanotubes 24 and polymer composite materials, 7,19,25 to name just a few examples. Among these technologies, screen printing serves as a particularly versatile and cost-effective strategy for fabricating conductive patterns, 8,12 electrodes, 7,13,14 radio frequency identication (RFID) tags, 15 solar cells, 16,17 sensors, 18,19 supercapacitors 20 and so on.…”

Emerging flexible and wearable physical sensing platforms for healthcare and biomedical applications

“…Among these advanced materials, inorganic materials in the form of nanofibers or nanowires are being extensively investigated as alternatives owing to their sensitivity and ease of assembly on unconventional materials 3,32,37,61 . Carbon-based nanomaterials, for example, offer superior sensitivity owing to their remarkable electrical and mechanical properties 29,[62][63][64][65] . These nanomaterials are increasingly being utilized for various sensing applications, including biomolecules 66 , chemicals 61,67,68 , mechanical strain 46,69,70 , and pressure 71 .…”

Tatuaże elektroniczne - elastyczne czujniki biomedyczne do monitorowania stanu zdrowia

“…Jest to fala ciśnienia rozchodząca się wzdłuż tętnic w wyniku skurczu lewej komory serca. Przedstawiona poniżej metoda pomiaru pulsu opiera się na opracowanym wcześniej przez autorów drukowanym czujniku ciśnienia [7]. Rejestruje on zmiany ciśnienia na powierzchni skóry, które bezpośrednio nad płytko położonymi tętnicami są zależne w znacznej mierze od przebiegu fali pulsu.…”