MXene-Enhanced Laser-Induced Graphene Flexible Sensor with Rapid Response for Monitoring Pilots’ Body Motion

Abstract

Flexible wearable strain sensors demonstrate promising application prospects in health monitoring, human-machine interaction, motion tracking, and the detection of human physiological signals. Although laser-induced graphene (LIG) materials have been extensively utilized in these scenarios, traditional types of LIG sensors are constrained by intrinsic limitations, including discontinuous conductive networks and electromechanical responsive hysteresis. These limitations hinder their applications in micro-strain detection scenarios. Consequently, enhancing the performance of LIG-based sensors has become a crucial priority. To address this challenge, we developed a novel MXene/LIG composite featuring optimized conductive networks and interfacial coupling effects through the systematic enhancement of LIG. The flexible strain sensor fabricated using this composite exhibits exceptional performance, including an ultra-low sheet resistance of 14.1 Ω, a high sensitivity of 20.7, a micro-strain detection limit of 0.05%, and a rapid response time of approximately 65 ms. These improvements significantly enhance electromechanical responsiveness and strain detection sensitivity. Furthermore, the sensor exhibits remarkable stability under varying tensile strains, particularly showing outstanding repeatability across 2500 cyclic tests. Notably, when applied to the pilot health monitoring scenarios, the MXene/LIG-based sensor demonstrates robust capability in detecting body movement signals such as micro-expressions and joint movements. This establishes a novel and highly effective technological solution for the real-time monitoring of pilots’ motion states during operational scenarios