Self-Powered Tactile Sensors Embedded with Self-Healing Electrodes for Multifunctional Applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Electrical Engineering
• Robotics and Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Flexible tactile sensing is crucial for environmental interaction and has attracted global research interest.
• Existing tactile sensors face challenges with durability, sensitivity, and self-healing capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multifunctional self-powered tactile sensor (MSPTS) by integrating triboelectric and piezoelectric effects.
• To engineer novel self-healing electrodes to improve sensor performance and longevity.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of MSPTS combining triboelectric and piezoelectric principles.
• Synthesis of self-healing electrodes using poly(dimethylsiloxane) (HPDMS) and boric acid.
• Utilizing hydrogen bonds between self-healing material (SHM) and liquid metal (LM) to prevent leakage and enable self-healing via borate dynamic bonding.

Main Results:

• The MSPTS exhibited a linear detection range of 0.25-5 kPa with a high sensitivity of 246.28 mV/kPa.
• Demonstrated enhanced sensor sensitivity, output performance, and anti-interference capabilities.
• Successfully applied to pressure detection, material identification, and human body movement detection.

Conclusions:

• The developed MSPTS with self-healing electrodes offers significant improvements in performance and durability.
• The innovative electrode design effectively prevents liquid metal leakage and provides self-healing functionality.
• This technology broadens the application scope of flexible electronic devices in various fields.