Highly stable pressure sensor based on carbonized melamine sponge using fully wrapped conductive path for flexible electronic skin

Abstract High-performance stretchable and wearable electronic skins (e-skins) with high sensitivity and large sensing range are urgently required with the rapid development of internet of things and artificial intelligence. Herein, a simple and efficient “dip coating” method was proposed for preparing flexible pressure sensors based on the combination of silicone rubber (SR) and carbonized melamine sponge (CMS). From the as-prepared flexible sensor, good stability, mechanical performances, anti-interference ability, wide working range (0∼550 kPa), fast response (∼120 ms), frequency-dependent performance, reliable repeatability (∼10000 cycle) and stable signal waveform output can be readily obtained. This CMS-based flexible pressure sensor can not only detect human motion (finger bending, knee squatting-arising and plantar pressure changing) in real time and reliably, but also detect the pressure distribution in space through arraying. The experimental results demonstrate that the flexible pressure sensor based on functional-sponge can be a promising candidate for healthcare monitoring and wearable electronics in artificial intelligence.