Graphene/Glycerin Solution-Based Multifunctional Stretchable Strain Sensor with Ultra-High Stretchability, Stability, and Sensitivity

Abstract

Highly stretchable, flexible, and sensitive strain sensors have promising applications in motion detection—especially multifunctional strain sensors that can detect stretching, bending, compression and twisting. Herein, this study presents a graphene and glycerol solution-based multifunctional sensor with ultra-high stretchability and sensitivity. Owing to the self-lubrication and fluidity of the graphene-glycerol solution, the strain sensors display super stretchability up to 1000%, a maximum gauge factor up to 45.13, and excellent durability for over 10,000 cycles. In addition, the sensor can also rapidly respond to small strains (1%, 5%, 10%) and different stretching rates (12.5%/s, 25%/s, 50%/s, and 100%/s). More impressively, the sensors can measure up to 50 kPa pressure and 180° twisting without any damage. Furthermore, the strain sensors demonstrate their applicability in scenarios involving motion detection, such as that for finger bending, wrist rotating, touching, and drinking water.

Keywords

• stretchable sensor
• conductive liquid
• graphene
• glycerol
• motion detect