Microstructured\nCNTs/Cellulose Aerogel for a Highly\nSensitive Pressure Sensor

Flexible\nsensors have been applied in human health monitoring and\nbiomedical research, but producing high-performance piezoresistive\nsensors at low cost is still challenging. To address these shortcomings,\nwe proposed a microstructured carbon nanotube (CNT)/cellulose aerogel-based\npressure sensor. The sensor consists of three parts, i.e., cellulose/poly(vinyl\nalcohol)/CNT aerogel-based sensing layer and top and bottom thermoplastic\npolyurethane elastomer (TPU)/silver nanowire (Ag NW) nanofiber electrode.\nThe aerogel is fabricated using a simple freeze-drying method and\nan easy electrospinning method to obtain the nanofiber-based electrode.\nTwo TPU/Ag NW nanofiber electrodes sandwiched the aerogel with a microstructure\nin the middle. Benefiting from the microcone and micropore structures\non the nanofiber electrode, the assembled sensors show a high sensitivity\nof 66.4 kPa<sup>–1</sup>, a significant detection boundary\nof 50 kPa, and an excellent response speed of 10 ms. The high sensing\nperformance enables the sensor to monitor physiological signals, Morse\ncode interactions, and gesture recognition. With the help of machine\nlearning, the success rate of gesture recognition is as high as 98.8%.\nThe preparation of this pressure sensor based on an aerogel shows\nexcellent health and environmental monitoring potential as an artificial\nskin.