期刊名称：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
印刷版ISSN：0027-8424
电子版ISSN：1091-6490
出版年度：2014
卷号：111
期号：5
页码：1703-1707
DOI：10.1073/pnas.1317920111
语种：English
出版社：The National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
摘要：Mammalian whiskers present an important class of tactile sensors that complement the functionalities of skin for detecting wind with high sensitivity and navigation around local obstacles. Here, we report electronic whiskers based on highly tunable composite films of carbon nanotubes and silver nanoparticles that are patterned on high-aspect-ratio elastic fibers. The nanotubes form a conductive network matrix with excellent bendability, and nanoparticle loading enhances the conductivity and endows the composite with high strain sensitivity. The resistivity of the composites is highly sensitive to strain with a pressure sensitivity of up to [~]8%/Pa for the whiskers, which is >10x higher than all previously reported capacitive or resistive pressure sensors. It is notable that the resistivity and sensitivity of the composite films can be readily modulated by a few orders of magnitude by changing the composition ratio of the components, thereby allowing for exploration of whisker sensors with excellent performance. Systems consisting of whisker arrays are fabricated, and as a proof of concept, real-time two- and three-dimensional gas-flow mapping is demonstrated. The ultrahigh sensitivity and ease of fabrication of the demonstrated whiskers may enable a wide range of applications in advanced robotics and human-machine interfacing.
