Recent Advances in Physical Sensors Based on Electrospinning Technology

TLDR

The rapid growth of IoT and AI has spurred extensive research into physical sensors, with advances in material selection, design, and performance across applications such as electronic skin, biomedicine, and tissue engineering, and electrospinning emerging as a key fabrication method due to its nanoscale fibers, high surface area, and porosity. This review surveys the working principles of pressure, strain, temperature, and humidity sensors and summarizes recent progress in electrospun nanofiber-based physical sensors. The authors review how electrospun nanofiber membranes, with their nanoscale fibers and high porosity, are fabricated and functionalized to serve as pressure, strain, temperature, and humidity sensors.

Abstract

In the past decades, the rapid development of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology and artificial intelligence (AI) has driven the research boom of physical sensors. Material selection, structure design, and performance research for physical sensors have attracted extensive attention from worldwide researchers in the field of advanced manufacturing. Significant technological progress has been made in the area of physical sensors for applications in various fields such as electronic skin, biomedicine, and tissue engineering. There are many methods (e.g., electrospinning, screen printing, or rotary coating) to prepare physical sensors. Among them, nanofibers or nanofiber membranes prepared by electrospinning have the advantages of a nanosize effect, high specific surface area, and high porosity over other reported materials used for physical sensors. In this review, the working principles of various physical sensors including pressure sensors, strain sensors, temperature sensors, and humidity sensors are first introduced; recent research progress of electrospun nanofiber-based physical sensors is then summarized. Finally, future research trends and associated challenges of large-scale adoption of electrospun physical sensors are proposed.