High Sensitivity and Antifreeze Silver Nanowire/Eutectic Gel Strain Sensor for Human Motion and Healthcare Monitoring

High-performance flexible strain sensing has shown enormous application value in the fields of motion monitoring and biomedical engineering. However, developing strain sensors that combine high sensitivity, wide strain sensing range, and environmental stability still remains a lot of challenge. In this work, we proposed a strain sensor with high sensitivity, wide strain sensing range, low temperature resistance and adhesiveness by embedding the silver nanowires (AgNWs) film into the eutectic gel matrix. The double-layer conductive embedded structure gives the sensor unparalleled sensitivity and sensing range, while the eutectic gel gives the sensor low temperature resistance and excellent skin conformal ability. The results indicate that the sensor has high sensitivity (GF>1345), wide strain sensing range (0-300%), long-term stability (over 3000 cycles), and can still maintain stability in low temperature environments. In addition, a series of human motion monitoring and real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) applications have demonstrated the enormous potential of the prepared sensors in human healthcare monitoring.