Design Strategy for Porous Composites Aimed at Pressure Sensor Application.

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Flexible and sensitive pressure sensors are crucial for disease diagnosis and healthcare.
• Current fabrication methods for porous composite sensors are often complex, costly, and environmentally unfriendly.
• There is a need for facile, economical, and eco-friendly fabrication strategies for lightweight, highly sensitive pressure sensors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, simple, and sustainable fabrication strategy for porous composite pressure sensors.
• To create highly sensitive and flexible pressure sensors using readily available materials.
• To demonstrate the potential applications of the fabricated sensors in healthcare and physical training.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of porous composite pressure sensors using heat molding of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) powders and conductive nanostructures with popcorn salts.
• Water-assisted removal of salt to create a porous foam structure.
• Characterization of the sensor's piezoresistive properties, including linearity, gauge factor, and reproducibility.

Main Results:

• Successfully fabricated lightweight, porous TPU/carbon nanostructure (CNS) foam pressure sensors.
• Achieved a linear resistance response up to 60% compressive strain with a gauge factor (GF) of 1.5.
• Demonstrated reversible and reproducible piezoresistive properties attributed to robust conductive pathways within the foam structure.

Conclusions:

• The developed heat molding and salt-leaching method provides a facile, economical, and environmentally friendly approach for fabricating high-performance porous pressure sensors.
• The TPU/CNS foam sensors exhibit excellent sensitivity and stability, making them suitable for biomedical applications.
• Potential applications include guiding squatting exercises and monitoring respiration rate in physical training and healthcare settings.