Hierarchical Structured Fabrics with Enhanced Pressure Sensing Performance Based on Orientated Growth of Functional Bacterial Cellulose

Abstract

Wearable electronics based on natural biomaterials, such as bacterial cellulose (BC), have shown promise for a variety of healthcare and human-computer interaction applications. However, current BC-based pressure sensors have an inherent limitation, which is the two-dimensional rigid structures and limited compressibility of BC restrict the sensitivity and working range for pressure sensing. Here, we propose a strategy for fabricating BC/polypyrrole/spacer fabric (BPSF) pressure sensors with a hierarchical structure constructed by integrating conductive BC nanonetwork into a compressible fabric frame via the in situ biofermentation process. The hierarchical structure design includes a cross-scale network from the nanoscale BC sensor networks to the macroscopic three-dimensional compressible fabric sensor network, which significantly improves the working range (0–300 kPa) and sensitivity (40.62 kPa⁻¹) of BPSF. Via this unique structural design, the sensor also achieves a high fatigue life (~5000 cycles), wearability, and reproducibility even after several washing and abrasion cycles. Furthermore, a flexible and wearable electronic textile featuring an n × n sensing matrix was developed by constructing BPSF arrays, allowing for the precise control of machines and weight distribution analysis. These empirical insights are valuable for the biofabrication and textile structure design of wearable devices toward the realization of highly intuitive human-machine interfaces.

Graphical Abstract