Printable low-cost and flexible carbon nanotube buckypaper motion sensors

Publication date: 5 November 2017
Source:Materials & Design, Volume 133
Author(s): Joshua DeGraff, Richard Liang, Minh Quyen Le, Jean-Fabien Capsal, Florent Ganet, Pierre-Jean Cottinet
Wearable technology, which features affordable and flexible sensors integrated into fabrics and garments to detect both deliberate and subtle body movements, will reshape the way we approach self-rehabilitation, physical training, and many high-dexterity tasks by harvesting data about the wearer's activity. Metallic and semi-conductor sensors are currently the most commercially viable sensors. Metallic sensors designs are low profile and flexible; however, they are limited by low sensitivity and complex manufacturing. Semi-conductor sensor designs are highly sensitive but limited by their rigidity and brittle nature. Wearable sensors that are low profile, flexible, and sensitive to micro-strains are highly desired. We have developed a printable and low profile strain sensor using multi-wall carbon nanotube thin films called buckypaper (MWCNT-BP). Our tests indicate that the buckypaper sensors are 77% more sensitive than similar sensor designs. This paper explains the low-cost printing technology and displays the sensors' performance after integration into a fabric glove.

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