Flexible Tactile Sensor
Using the Reversible Deformation
of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Nanofiber Assemblies
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Abstract
In this letter, we report a simple approach to fabricating
scalable
flexible tactile sensors using a nanofiber assembly of regioregular
poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT). Uniform P3HT nanofibers are obtained
through a continuous electrospinning process using a homogeneous solution
of high-molecular-weight P3HT. The P3HT nanofibers are oriented by
collecting them on a rotating drum collector. Small physical inputs
into the self-standing P3HT nanofiber assemblies give rise to additional
contact among neighboring nanofibers, which results in decreased contact
resistance in directions orthogonal to the nanofiber orientation.
The P3HT nanofiber assemblies could detect pressure changes and bending
angles by monitoring the resistance changes, and the sensor responses
were repeatable