81. Preparation and Performance Investigation of the Flexible Pressure Sensor

Recently, the flexible pressure sensor has attracted significant attentions as its high performance and wide applications, including wearable electronics, environmental monitoring device, and human-machine interfaces device and robotics. In this paper, silver nanowires (AgNWs) as the electrode materials were synthesized by polyol process, and the laboratory-made silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) as well as commercial carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were also chosen as the electrode materials in comparison. The flexible plastic, PI, PET, and PE films were chosen as the dielectric layer. The flexible pressure sensor was prepared with a simple, low-cost, and low energy-consuming method as sandwiching the dielectric layer between two opposing electrodes. The effects of the different electrode materials and the dielectric layer on the properties of the flexible pressure sensor were investigated. Results showed that the sensor with larger dielectric constant PI film and easy deformation AgNW/PDMS electrode had a greater sensitivity (1. 284 kPa⁻¹⁾, fast response time, and high stability. The applied testing showed that the prepared flexible pressure sensor could detect tiny pressure signals and has the potential to be used in the electronic skins filed.