Sodium Alginate/MXene-Based Flexible Humidity Sensors with High-Humidity Durability and Application Potentials in Breath Monitoring and Non-Contact Human–Machine Interfaces

Abstract

Flexible humidity sensors (FHSs) with fast response times and durability to high-humidity environments are highly desirable for practical applications. Herein, an FHS based on crosslinked sodium alginate (SA) and MXene was fabricated, which exhibited high sensitivity (impedance varied from 107 to 105 Ω between 10% and 90% RH), good selectivity, prompt response times (response/recover time of 4 s/11 s), high sensing linearity (R2 = 0.992) on a semi-logarithmic scale, relatively small hysteresis (~5% RH), good repeatability, and good resistance to highly humid environments (negligible changes in sensing properties after being placed in 98% RH over 24 h). It is proposed that the formation of the crosslinking structure of SA and the introduction of MXene with good conductivity and a high specific surface area contributed to the high performance of the composite FHS. Moreover, the FHS could promptly differentiate the respiration status, recognize speech, and measure fingertip movement, indicating potential in breath monitoring and non-contact human–machine interactions. This work provides guidance for developing advanced flexible sensors with a wide application scope in wearable electronics.

Keywords

• flexible humidity sensor
• sodium alginate
• MXene
• high-humidity durability
• breath monitoring
• non-contact human–machine interface