A facilely fabricated electrochemical self-powered pressure sensor for multifunctional applications†
Abstract
Self-powered pressure sensors based on triboelectric and piezoelectric principles have been widely reported in the field of flexible electronics, but they can’t achieve static pressure detection. Herein, we propose a facilely fabricated electrochemical self-powered pressure sensor for static and dynamic pressure detection. Specifically, it mainly consists of Cu/Al electrodes, LiCl and filter paper. Among them, the Cu/Al electrodes are used for electrochemical reactions, LiCl provides sufficient conductive ions in the electrochemical reaction, and the rough surface microstructure of the filter paper determines the good pressure sensing performance of the sensor. The results show that the sensor can spontaneously output current in the pressure range of 1–30 kPa, with a maximal output current of 29.4 μA at 30 kPa, exhibiting characteristics of power generation and pressure detection. The pressure sensing mechanism of the sensor is revealed by analyzing the current response and the morphology characterization. similar to many electrochemical self-powered pressure sensors based on complex technology and high cost, the proposed pressure sensor has also been successfully used in multifunctional applications, such as finger joint detection, Morse code transmission and abdominal respiration detection. In addition, the different respiratory states can be recognized using the proposed sensor and machine learning. This work provides a reference for the development of simple and low-cost electrochemical self-powered pressure sensors.