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Paper has been utilized as an ideal platform for chemical, biological, and
mechanical sensing for its fibrous structures and properties in addition to
its low cost. However, current studies on pressure-sensitive papers have not
fully utilized the unique advantages of papers, such as printability, cuttability,
and foldability. Moreover, the existing resistive, capacitive, and triboelectric
sensing modalities have long-standing challenges in sensitivity, noise-
proofing, response time, linearity, etc. Here, a novel flexible iontronic sensing
mechanism, referred to as iontronic sensing paper (ISP), is introduced to
the classic paper substrates by incorporating both ionic and conductive
patterns into an all-in-one flexible sensing platform. The ISP can then be
structured into 2D or 3D tactile-sensitive origamis only by the paper-specific
manipulations of printing, cutting, folding, and gluing. Notably, the ISP
device possesses a device sensitivity of 10 nF kPa
-1
cm
-2
, which is thousands
of times higher than that of the commercial counterpart, a resolution of
6.25 Pa, a single-millisecond response time, and a high linearity (R
2
> 0.996).
Benefiting from the unique properties of the fibrous paper structures and
its remarkable performances, the ISP devices hold enormous potential for
the emerging human–machine interfaces, including smart packaging, health
wearables, and pressure-sensitive paper matrix.
disposable, degradable material at a low
cost, paper has long been utilized as a flex-
ible platform for chemical and biological
sensing. For instance, the pH papers,
blood glucose-sensing strips, and early
pregnancy detection kits are the most
notable ones, along with the recent devel-
opments of organic gas sensors, DNA and
protein sensors, and heavy ion detection
devices.
[1–15]
Furthermore, benefiting from
their fibrous structure, papers can be
modified with functional additives, such
as carbon-derived materials (e.g., carbon
nanotube (CNT) and graphene), conduc-
tive polymers, and metallic nanocompos-
ites, leading to new functionalities and
sensing modalities.
[16–21]
Among these
emerging functional papers, pressure-
sensitive papers can be configured with
a simple device architecture due to its
straightforward sensing principles.
[22–25]
Although recent studies have successfully
exhibited the device flexibility, low-cost
manufacturability, and disposability, the
additional unique natural advantages of
paper have not been fully utilized, such as printability, cutta-
bility, and foldability.
The previously reported pressure-sensitive papers, along
with the pressure sensors made of them are primarily based
on three existing sensing mechanisms, i.e., resistive, capacitive,
and triboelectric.
[22,26,27]
The resistive pressure-sensing papers
detect the variations of the electrical resistance induced by the
change of the contact area between two resistor structures upon
the applied pressure, which can be prepared by dip coating and
spray coating of a particular conductive material. Ren’s group
has reported a novel graphene paper prepared by immersing
tissue papers into a graphene oxide solution, and consecutively,
this paper pressure sensing device has exhibited a sensitivity
of 17.2 kPa
-1
within the range of 2 kPa.
[22]
Cheng’s group has
published a gold nanowire coated paper as a functional sensing
material, the prepared pressure sensing device shows a device
sensitivity of 1.14 kPa
-1
within the range of 5 kPa.
[25]
However,
the nonlinearity between the resistance measurements and the
pressure readings can lead to substantial reduction in the device
sensitivity as pressure increases. For instance, the sensitivity
of the graphene-paper pressure sensor dramatically declines
from 17.2 to 0.012 kPa
-1
beyond its range limit of 2 kPa, thus
restricting its practical utilities and applications.
[22]
Alternatively,
the capacitive pressure-sensitive papers typically utilize parallel
electrodes sandwiching a compressible dielectric layer.
[28–30]
As
the loading pressure increases, the distance between two parallel
All-in-One Iontronic Sensing Paper
Sen Li, Ning Pan, Zijie Zhu, Ruya Li, Baoqing Li, Jiaru Chu, Guanglin Li, Yu Chang,*
and Tingrui Pan*
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201807343
S. Li, Prof. G. Li, Dr. Y. Chang
Bionic Sensing and Intelligence Center (BSIC)
Institute of Biomedical and Health Engineering
Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology
Chinese Academy of Science
1068 Xueyuan Avenue, Shenzhen 518055, China
E-mail: yu.chang@siat.ac.cn
S. Li, Prof. B. Li, Prof. J. Chu
Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation
University of Science and Technology of China
96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei 230027, China
Prof. N. Pan, Dr. Z. Zhu, Prof. R. Li, Dr. Y. Chang, Prof. T. Pan
Micro-Nano Innovations (MINI) Laboratory
Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of California
Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, USA
E-mail: trpan@ucdavis.edu
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201807343.
Paper Electronics
1. Introduction
Paper, made of natural or artificial cellulose fibers with
additives, has evolved throughout human history and played
a very important role in our daily life, primarily to record and
spread information. Being a soft, foldable, printable, cuttable,
Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 1807343