The piezoresistive pressure sensors based on ITO nanocrystalline-plant fiber composite

Wearable electronic devices have attracted extensive attention for their potential applications in robotic haptics, human-computer interaction, and human pulse wave measurement. A flexible pressure sensor, as a wearable electronic device, should be environmentally friendly and low-cost to manufacture. Cellulose paper-based pressure sensors have attracted much attention due to their excellent properties such as light weight, no or low toxicity, degradability, and flexibility. Here, we report a strategy for piezoresistive tactile sensors based on indium tin oxide (ITO) nanocrystal and plant fiber composite. The pressure sensor has a wide detection range (0–100 kPa), high sensitivity (464.88 kPa−1), fast response time (6.93 ms) and recovery time (7.18 ms), and good loading and unloading stability. We also demonstrate that the as-prepared pressure sensors can be used for pulse testing, respiration monitoring, voice recognition, and various human motion detections. The results show that the pressure sensor based on the ITO nanocrystalline-plant fiber composite has the prospect of being applied to smart wearable electronic products.