Underwater Highly Pressure-Sensitive Fabric Based on Electric-Induced Alignment of Graphene

Abstract

Wearable pressure sensors have received widespread attention owing to their potential applications in areas such as medical diagnosis and human–computer interaction. However, current sensors cannot adapt to extreme environments (e.g., wet and underwater) or show moderate sensitivity. Herein, a highly sensitive and superhydrophobic fabric sensor is reported based on graphene/PDMS coating. This wearable sensor exhibits great superhydrophobicity (water contact angle of 153.9°) due to the hydrophobic alkyl long chains and rough structure introduced by the Ar plasma. Owing to the network structure created by the electric-induced alignment of graphene sheets, an enhanced sensitivity (ΔI/I0 of 55) and fast response time (~100 ms) are observed. Due to its superhydrophobicity and sensitivity, this wearable sensor demonstrates efficient and stable monitoring of various underwater activities, including pressure, blowing, and tapping. Our approach provides an alternative idea for highly sensitive wearable sensors while broadening the practical application scope.

Development of Hydrophobic Fabrics Modified with Graphene: A Systematic Review

“…Dip-coating is a widely utilized process for dyeing, printing, or applying various chemical finishes to textile materials such as fabrics, knits, yarns, and nonwovens. This technique has gained prominence in fabric applications owing to its simplicity, strong adhesion, easy availability, and potential for large-scale production [1,5,6,[19][20][21][22][23]. Fang and colleagues (2019) studied the preparation of glass fibers coated with graphene and high electrical conductivity through the sol-gel and dip-coating techniques, and they reported that the dipcoating method achieved the best properties [16].…”

“…Out of the total of 35 studies that evaluated the contact angle of the fabric after graphene modification, 28 studies successfully modified the fabric surface to achieve a hydrophobic classification [1,2,3,6,9,[14][15][16][17][18]20,22,[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

“…Graphene has stood out recently due to its remarkable properties, such as fracture resistance, thermal conductivity, impermeability, and hydrophobicity. In addition to these applications, a wide range of graphene applications includes electrical conductivity [2][3][4], usage as flame retardants [5], energy storage and conversion [6], dye removal [7], and antibacterial function [8]. However, applying graphene to a polymeric matrix (fabric) remains a significant challenge for researchers, particularly when considering highscale production and low cost.…”