Electrical engineering

Physics

Geology

Fabrication

Pathology

Nanotechnology

Oceanography

Wearable computer

Engineering

Electronics

Embedded system

Artificial intelligence

Composite material

Vibration

Acoustics

Materials science

Alternative medicine

Gauge factor

Computer science

Wearable technology

Stretchable electronics

Strain gauge

Medicine

Bionics

Underwater

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces

There is currently a growing demand for flexible strain sensors with high performance and water repellency for various applications such as human motion monitoring, sweat or humidity detection, and certain underwater tests. Among these strain sensors, paper-based ones have attracted increasing attention because they coincide with the future development trend of environment-friendly electronic products. However, paper-based electronics are easy to fail when they encounter water and are thus unable to be applied to humid or underwater circumstances. Herein, based on a strategy of coupling bionics inspired by lotus leaf and scorpion, which exhibit superhydrophobic characteristics and ultrasensitive vibration-sensing capacity, respectively, a paper-based strain sensor with high sensitivity and water repellency is successfully fabricated. As a result, the strain sensor exhibits a gauge factor of 263.34, a high strain resolution (0.098%), a fast response time (78 ms), excellent stability over 12,000 cycles, and a water contact angle of 164°. Owing to the bioinspired structures and function mechanisms, the paper-based strain sensor is suitable to not only serve as regular wearable electronics to monitor human motions in real-time but also to detect subtle underwater vibrations, demonstrating its great potential for numerous applications like wearable electronics, water environmental protection, and underwater robots.

Bioinspired, Superhydrophobic, and Paper-Based Strain Sensors for Wearable and Underwater Applications