Flexible tactile sensor based on patterned ag-nanofiber electrodes through electrospinning

The growing demand for intelligent equipment has greatly inspired the development of flexible devices. Thus, disparate flexible multifunctional devices, including pressure sensitive flexible/stretchable displays, have drawn worldwide research attention. Electrodes maintaining conductivity and mechanical strength against deformations are indispensable components in all prospective applications. In this work, a flexible pressure mapping sensor array is developed based on patterned Ag-nanofibers (Ag-NFs) electrode through electrospinning and lithography. The metallic Ag layer is sputtered onto the electrospinning polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) NFs. A uniform and super conductive electrode layer with outstanding mechanical performance is thus formed after dissolving PVA. Followed by the traditional lithography method, a patterned electrode array (4 × 4 sensors) is obtained. Based on the newly developed triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) technology, a flexible pressure-mapping sensor with excellent stability towards bending deformations is further demonstrated. Moreover, a letter "Z" is successfully visualized by this pressure sensor array, encouraging more human-machine interactive implementations, such as multi-functional tactile screens.Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)Ministry of Education (MOE)Nanyang Technological UniversityNational Research Foundation (NRF)Published versionThis work was supported by the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 2 (MOE2019-T2-2-127 and T2EP50120-0005), A*STAR under AME IRG (A2083c0062), the Singapore Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 1 (RG90/19 and RG73/19) and the Singapore National Research Foundation Competitive Research Program (NRF-CRP18-2017-02). This work was also supported by Nanyang Technological University