A highly sensitive wearable pressure sensor capsule based on PVA/Mxene composite gel

Abstract

Wearable sensors have drawn considerable interest in the recent research world. However, simultaneously realizing high sensitivity and wide detection limits under changing surrounding environment conditions remains challenging. In the present study, we report a wearable piezoresistive pressure sensor capsule that can detect pulse rate and human motion. The capsule includes a flexible silicon cover and is filled with different PVA/MXene (PVA-Mx) composites by varying the weight percentage of MXene in the polymer matrix. Different characterizations such as XRD, FTIR and TEM results confirm that the PVA-Mx silicon capsule was successfully fabricated. The PVA-Mx gel-based sensor capsule remarkably endows a low detection limit of 2 kPa, exhibited high sensitivity of 0.45 kPa−1 in the ranges of 2–10 kPa, and displayed a response time of ~ 500 ms, as well as good mechanical stability and non-attenuating durability over 500 cycles. The piezoresistive sensor capsule sensor apprehended great stability towards changes in humidity and temperature. These findings substantiate that the PVA/MXene sensor capsule is potentially suitable for wearable electronics and smart clothing.