Highly Sensitive and Breathability Flexible Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor Based on Xylon

Abstract

AbstractIn recent years, the prevalence of cervical spondylosis has been increasing, which is associated with unhealthy posture in daily life, flexible pressure sensors are beneficial in preventing cervical spine disorders. This work is dedicated to developing a flexible, high‐performance, and breathable device to monitor the health of the neck. Here, a flexible pressure sensor with a “sandwich” structure is presented, which incorporates patterned xylon fabric as the substrate and MXene as the sensitive layer. Furthermore, the application of silver nanowires (AgNWs) as the electrode material improves the piezoresistive performance. Combined with an internal elastic encapsulation method (IEEM), the sensor exhibits high sensitivity (1417.9 kPa−1 under pressure below 100 kPa) and a fast response time (30.77 ms). Compared with traditional flexible pressure sensors, the breathability of devices with an all‐fiber structure is nearly seven times higher, which better satisfies the monitoring requirements of long‐term wear. Finally, a wireless system is established by integrating a Bluetooth module and a terminal app. It enables monitoring and sensing of various physiological signals of the neck, as well as identification and alerting of long‐term poor posture such as prolonged neck flexion, showing a potential candidate for the applications of the next‐generation wearable device.