Highly Deformable and Transparent Triboelectric Physiological Sensor Based on Anti-Freezing and Antidrying Ionic Conductive Hydrogel

This paper reports a novel high-deformable and transparent triboelectric hydrogel sensor (THS) with anti-freezing and anti-drying properties for physiology sensing and motion monitoring. It is the first time to fabricate the micro-pyramidal structure on hydrogel's surface for a highly sensitive self-powered sensor. Excellent mechanical and electrical performances can be obtained due to deformable and conductive ionic hydrogel with anti-freezing and anti-drying properties. It shows no significant variations of output signals after being stored at -20°C for seven days and 60°C for 1-day compared with placed at room temperature. Besides, combined with the same processing method of the triboelectric PDMS layer, THS shows an instant response to physiological movement, including breathing with a mask, finger bending and sitting/squatting down. This work provides an insightful method for hydrogel in the application of the physiological sensors field.