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Wearable and Stretchable Strain Sensors: Advanced Materials, Sensing Technologies, Energy Harvesting

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Wearables".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 June 2024) | Viewed by 2354

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Research Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics, University of Innsbruck, Hoechsterstrasse 73, 6850 Dornbirn, Austria
Interests: electrochemical energy storage systems; conductive textiles; 3D porous electrodes; embroidered structures; carbon-based electrodes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics, University of Innsbruck, Hoechsterstrasse 73, 6850 Dornbirn, Austria
Interests: cellulose fibres; dye electrochemistry; indigo; textile sensors; flexible conductive material; textile and fibre chemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Substantial research effort is focused on the development of reliable and durable strain sensors in wearable applications for technical as well as medical purposes. A sensor utilizes a certain physical or chemical sensing principle, which leads to an electrical signal that is measured. In the particular case of a wearable and flexible strain sensor, the formation, transmission, and recording of the signal has to overcome certain limitations, such as long-term stability under corrosive environments and harsh mechanical conditions (e.g., tensile, fatigue, and cycling tests). In this Special Issue, we are seeking contributions on new concepts for flexible strain sensors, sensing mechanisms, and the evaluation of their signals under applicatory conditions will be presented. New potential applications and assessments under simulated conditions will be welcome, such as case studies of flexible strain sensors in medicine and physiotherapy.

Dr. Noemí Aguiló-Aguayo
Prof. Dr. Thomas Bechtold
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 4210 KiB  
Article
The Electrical and Mechanical Characteristics of Conductive PVA/PEDOT:PSS Hydrogel Foams for Soft Strain Sensors
by Florian E. Jurin, Cédric C. Buron, Eleonora Frau, Stefan del Rossi and Silvia Schintke
Sensors 2024, 24(2), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/s24020570 - 16 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1661
Abstract
Conductive hydrogels are of interest for highly flexible sensor elements. We compare conductive hydrogels and hydrogel foams in view of strain-sensing applications. Polyvinyl alcool (PVA) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT:PSS) are used for the formulation of conductive hydrogels. For hydrogel foaming, we have investigated the [...] Read more.
Conductive hydrogels are of interest for highly flexible sensor elements. We compare conductive hydrogels and hydrogel foams in view of strain-sensing applications. Polyvinyl alcool (PVA) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT:PSS) are used for the formulation of conductive hydrogels. For hydrogel foaming, we have investigated the influence of dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBSA) as foaming agent, as well as the influence of air incorporation at various mixing speeds. We showed that DBSA acting as a surfactant, already at a concentration of 1.12wt%, efficiently stabilizes air bubbles, allowing for the formulation of conductive PVA and PVA/PEDOT:PSS hydrogel foams with low density (<400 kg/m3) and high water uptake capacity (swelling ratio > 1500%). The resulting Young moduli depend on the air-bubble incorporation from mixing, and are affected by freeze-drying/rehydration. Using dielectric broadband spectroscopy under mechanical load, we demonstrate that PVA/PEDOT:PSS hydrogel foams exhibit a significant decrease in conductivity under mechanical compression, compared to dense hydrogels. The frequency-dependent conductivity of the hydrogels exhibits two plateaus, one in the low frequency range, and one in the high frequency range. We find that the conductivity of the PVA/PEDOT:PSS hydrogels decreases linearly as a function of pressure in each of the frequency regions, which makes the hydrogel foams highly interesting in view of compressive strain-sensing applications. Full article
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