You are on page 1of 10

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/335314229

Full‐Textile Wireless Flexible Humidity Sensor for Human Physiological


Monitoring

Article  in  Advanced Functional Materials · October 2019


DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201904549

CITATIONS READS

127 801

13 authors, including:

Liyun Ma Ronghui Wu
Imperial College London University of Chicago
33 PUBLICATIONS   836 CITATIONS    37 PUBLICATIONS   906 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Aniruddha Patil Shuihong Zhu


Xiamen University Xiamen University
41 PUBLICATIONS   858 CITATIONS    20 PUBLICATIONS   433 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Nanoparticles by green technique View project

Polymer physics View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Haiqiang Meng on 08 April 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.


FULL PAPER
Yarn Sensor www.afm-journal.de

Full-Textile Wireless Flexible Humidity Sensor for Human


Physiological Monitoring
Liyun Ma, Ronghui Wu, Aniruddha Patil, Shuihong Zhu, Zhaohui Meng,
Haiqiang Meng, Chen Hou, Yifan Zhang, Qiang Liu, Rui Yu, Jun Wang,*
Naibo Lin,* and Xiang Yang Liu*

fields, such as physiological health moni-


Textile-based electronic techniques that can in real-time and noncontact toring,[2] sport health monitoring,[3] and
detect the respiration rate and respiratory arrest are highly desired for so on. As one of the important wearable
human health monitoring. Yarn-shaped humidity sensor is fabricated devices, flexible fiber or yarn-shaped
based on a sensitive fiber with relatively high specific surface area and sensors can monitor the human physi-
ological signals of the pressure, tem-
abnormal cross-section. The response and recovery time of the yarn-
perature, and others.[4] Water molecules
shaped humidity sensor is only 3.5 and 4 s, respectively, with little are an important component of respira-
hysteresis, because of the hydrophobic property of these functional tion, which affect the relative humidity
fibers and the grooves on the surface of the fibers, which is much faster (RH) around the mouth and nose while
than those of the commercial polyimide materials. Moreover, a battery- exhale and inhale during human respi-
ration. However, it is still a challenge
free LC wireless testing system combined with the yarn-shaped sensor
in real-time and noncontact detection
is fabricated, which is further successfully imbedded into the intelligent of the concentration of water molecules
mask to detect human breath. Based on the detection of LC wireless releasing from the human, which is
testing system, the frequency of 50.25 MHz under the exhaled condition directly related to vital signs, i.e., respira-
shifts to 50.86 MHz under the inhaled situation of humidity sensor. In tion arrest and respiratory rate.
essence, the functional yarns with proper structure, would be an excellent Humidity sensors are mainly cat-
egorized into two types based on the
candidature to the yarn-shaped humidity sensor, in which there are good
mechanisms of the capacitive type and
performance and wide application possibilities, eventually offering a facile resistive type. Humidity sensitive mate-
method for the wireless detection of human physiological signals in the rials in humidity sensors are susceptible
field of electronic fabrics. to the adsorption and desorption of water
molecules at atmosphere, which affects
the capacitance value or resistance value,
thereby generating different humidity
1. Introduction response signals. Flexible humidity sensors fabricated with
humidity-sensitive materials,[5] interdigital electrode param-
The wearable devices based on the textile electronics tech- eters,[6] and flexible substrates[7] have a special role in pro-
nologies exhibit not only the knittability and flexible adjust- moting the development of the wearable devices, however, a
ability, but also the wearability and washable property,[1] which certain limitations need to be overcome, such as the difficulty
are absorbing enormous and continuous attention in the to detect the humidity generated from different directions of

L. Ma, R. Wu, Dr. A. Patil, S. Zhu, Z. Meng, H. Meng, C. Hou, L. Ma, R. Wu, Prof. J. Wang
Y. Zhang, Q. Liu, Dr. R. Yu, Prof. N. Lin, Prof. X. Y. Liu Key Laboratory of Textile Science & Technology
Research Institution for Biomimetics and Soft Matter Ministry of Education
College of Materials College of Textiles
College of Physical Science and Technology Donghua University
Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory for Soft Functional Shanghai 201620, P. R. China
Materials Research E-mail: junwang@dhu.edu.cn
Jiujiang Research Institute L. Ma
Xiamen University College of Textile and Clothing
Xiamen 361005, P. R. China Xinjiang University
E-mail: linnaibo@xmu.edu.cn; phyliuxy@nus.edu.sg Urumqi 830000, P. R. China
R. Wu, Prof. X. Y. Liu
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article
Department of Physics
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201904549.
Faculty of Science
National University of Singapore
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201904549 Singapore 117542, Singapore

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (1 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.advancedsciencenews.com www.afm-journal.de

the human body and the impermeability of the substrate. In 2. Results and Discussion
this concern, the humidity sensor in a strip shape is incor-
porated into the textile by weaving,[8] pasting,[9] or sewing[10] 2.1. Strategy of the Fabrication of Humidity Yarn–Shaped Sensor
to solve the problems mentioned.[11] Recently, suspension
coating, drop coating, and spinning coating methods are used For a capacitance-type humidity sensor, the capacitance (Csensor)
to attach humidity sensitive material (poly(vinyl alcohol), can be described by the following parameters: electrode area
polyimide, carbon nanotube, etc.) or electrode material (S), dielectric thickness (d), and permittivity of the dielectric (εe)
(carbon nanotube, graphene, polyaniline, etc.) to fiber,
yarn, or fabric to fabricate a textile-based flexible humidity ε eS
Csensor = (1)
sensor.[11b,12] Although those approaches represent significant 4 π kd
progress toward fabricating textile-based humidity sensors,
there are major challenges yet to overcome. For instance, the where k is electrostatic force constant. In Equation (1), when
effects of the strip-shaped humidity sensor, the durability of S and d are fixed, Csensor is proportional to εe. The dielectric
the sensor performance prepared by coating method, etc.[13] permittivity of all polymers is ≈5, while pure water has a far
To overcome the limitation mentioned above, an instinct larger value of around 80 (78.54).[14] When the water molecules
humidity fiber/yarn-shaped sensor is expected to satisfy come into the dielectric layer, the value of permittivity of the
textile requirements. Here we present a yarn-shaped humidity dielectric will increase due to the high dielectric constant of
sensor imbedded into ordinary mask for wireless and battery- water. Thus, the capacitance value of the humidity sensor would
free monitoring of human breath. The yarn-shaped humidity change along with humidity, which is a quantity representing
sensor with a biaxial-type yarn wrapping structure is twice the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere or in a gas.
wound on copper wire by using homemade wrapping device, Based on the above principle, we fabricated this yarn-shaped
where the yarn with relatively high specific surface area and humidity sensor. In our yarn-shaped humidity sensors, the
abnormal cross-section is used as capacitance dielectric layer. yarn as dielectric layer is combined with two copper wire elec-
The special surface structure enables them a good water trodes to form a biaxial-sheathed structure (Figure 1). It needs
molecules transport capacity on the surfaces and helps in the to mention that sensitive yarns are carefully selected as the
capillary action on the yarn. That novel, simple, and scalable dielectric layer. The functional yarns play an important role in
method offers stable performance of humidity response, short sports’ fabrics and special equipment because they have the
response time, and recovery time. perfect humidity transmission.[15] Here, we fabricate four types

Figure 1.  Fabrication process steps for the humidity yarn–shaped sensor.

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (2 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.advancedsciencenews.com www.afm-journal.de

Figure 2.  SEM images of sensitive fibers. a,b) Coolmax fibers, d,e) Pentas fibers, g,h) Cleancool fibers, j,k) polyimide fibers, and c,f,i,l) corresponding
cartoon drawings. Scale bars: a,g,j) 50 µm; g) 20 µm; b,e,h,k) 10 µm.

of yarn-shaped sensors, named as Coolmax yarn–shaped sensor The surface morphology and cross-section of polyimide,
(CMYS), Pentas yarn–shaped sensor (PTYS), Cleancool yarn– Coolmax, Pentas, and Cleancool fibers are examined by scan-
shaped sensor (CCYS), and polyimide yarn–shaped sensor ning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis. From Figure  2a–i,
(PIYS). Coolmax, Pentas, and Cleancool are abnormal cross-section;
Coolmax is same as dumbbell, Pentas is leafy shape, Cleancool
is cross-shaped, and the three polyester fibers are all with some
2.2. Humidity Response Mechanism of the Dielectric Layer lengthwise groove. Polyimide fibers have smoother surface
morphology and circular cross-section.
Polyimide is a typical polymer material, which is used as the The groove morphologies endow the fiber relatively high
dielectric layer of the capacitive humidity sensor. In physical specific surface area (SS), which influence the humidity absorp-
adsorption process, the interaction between the carbonyl tion and desorption, where the specific surface area SS is
groups of polyimides and the water molecules is van der Waals showed in Equation (2)
force (dipole–dipole interaction), and the water absorption of
2
polyimide is very low, and hence the interaction among water d 
molecules is negligible.[14] In other words, the adsorption activa- π ⋅d ⋅l + 2⋅ π ⋅ 
Sf circular P ⋅ l + 2Af  2  4 2 4 (2)
tion energy is little, while the adsorption equilibrium is fast. The SS = ⇒ = = + ≈
Vf Vf π 2 d l d
functional yarns act as the dielectric layer of the yarn-shaped ⋅d ⋅l
4
humidity sensor. The chemical compositions of these yarns
are polyester (Coolmax, Pentas, and Cleancool) and polyimide, Here, P is fiber’s cross-section perimeter, l is the length
which have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared of fiber, Af is the cross-section area, Vf is the fiber’s volume,
(FTIR) spectroscopy. Figure S1 in the Supporting Information and d is the circular fiber’s diameter. Obviously, the diameter
shows that polyester yarns also have carbonyl group, which of the fiber directly affects its SS. If the fiber cross-section is
can interact with water molecules by van der Waals force, so circular, the specific surface area formula could simplify.[16]
polyester yarns can adsorb water molecules like polyimide. Equivalent diameter is calculated by Photoshop software from

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (3 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.advancedsciencenews.com www.afm-journal.de

SEM images. The obtained equivalent diameter of the fibers indicating that water molecules were transported along the
are 14.05 µm (Coolmax), 14.22 µm (Pentas), and 11.71 µm surface grooves to condense into droplets at a fast speed. Com-
(Cleancool), moreover the specific surface area are 0.285 µm−1 pared with the other three fibers, Cleancool fiber has the largest
(Coolmax), 0.281 µm−1 (Pentas), and 0.341 µm−1 (Cleancool), condensation droplets and the least number of droplets at the
respectively, according to formula (2). As the water molecules same time, indicating the strongest transport capacity for water
can only interact with the polar groups on the surfaces of fibers, molecules through the surface grooves.[17]
thereby, the larger specific surface area of the fiber is, the easier These groove morphologies not only directly influence
it is for moisture absorption and desorption. the single fiber, but also impact the yarns, which consist of
The water molecules transport capacity of those three types large amount of fibers. From the SEM, a series of gaps are
of fibers are related to humidity response, which was in situ formed because of the closely spaced fiber surface channels,
investigated by dynamic contact angle goniometer (Figure  3a). which helps in a capillary action.[18] Take the Coolclean yarn
The fibers were placed in the environment of 90% RH, the as an example (Figure 3b), the fibers with cross-shaped cross-
droplets on the surface of circular polyester were uniformly section are close to form gaps along with grooves running
assembled at 5 s, and were still uniformly arranged on the lengthwise. Based on the wick structure, the water mole-
fiber surface in 15 s. However, larger droplets were observed cules can be easily transferred from humid side to dry side
on the surface of polyester fibers with grooves at the same time, and evaporate rapidly. Meanwhile, the water molecules are

Figure 3. Performance and schematic mechanism of water transport. a) In situ observation of directional water movement on fibers (polyester,
Coolmax, Pentas, and Cleancool) in 90% RH condition. b) Schematic mechanism of water molecular transportation on the surface of fiber and yarn.

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (4 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.advancedsciencenews.com www.afm-journal.de

delivered along the fiber gaps and spread out into a wider sur- 2.3. Humidity Response of the Yarn-Shaped Sensor
face area, and thus increase the rate of evaporation.[15a] Those
structures and results indicate the little adsorption activa- 2.3.1. Sensitivity
tion energy and the fast adsorption equilibrium of Cleancool
fiber, which would help to improve the performance of the The real samples of yarn sensor are shown in Figure  4a. In
capacitive humidity sensor. order to test the sensing behavior of four yarn-shaped humidity

Figure 4.  Humidity performances of biaxial-sheathed humidity yarn sensors. a) Image of biaxial-sheathed yarn sensors. b) The capacitance curve of
four different sensors. c) The sensitivity comparison of four different sensors. d) Repeatability of the Cleancool yarn sensor exposed to 33% and 69%
RH from 6% RH. e) Response and recovery time of Coolclean yarn sensor. f,g) Comparison of response and recovery time of four different sensors.
h) The capacitance of the Cleancool yarn sensor upon exposure to various RH levels. i) Absorption and desorption curves of Coolclean yarn sensor.
j) The flexible humidity yarn sensor conformed well to a human finger, demonstrating its possible use as textile electronics. k) Relative capacitance
change of yarn sensor during 1000 bending cycles.

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (5 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.advancedsciencenews.com www.afm-journal.de

sensors, their electrical capacitance values were measured, and As noted in Figure 4i, the hysteresis characteristics study
the RH-dependent capacitance values are shown in Figure 4b. were performed by analyzing the adsorption and desorption
The capacitance values of four yarn sensors measured at 6% cycles. For this characteristic, CCYS is stored at 6% RH for 24 h,
RH are 0.676 pF (PIYS), 2.093 pF (CMYS), 2.297 pF (PTYS), and then the RHs rise from 6% to 97%, and back from 97% to
and 3.301 pF (CCYS). The clear increase in the sensors’ 6% RH. The capacitances of the sensor were recorded against
response is observed with the increase of RH value in the each humidity level during adsorption and desorption cycles. It
measuring range of 6% to 97%. The capacitance of PIYS raises can be observed that, during the 6-43% RH, the capacitances
from 0.676 pF (6% RH) to 8.816 pF (97% RH), which is the of the adsorption and desorption are almost overlapping, which
lowest capacitance change among the four types of yarn sen- show little hysteresis.
sors, while CCYS has the largest variation range from 3.301 to In view of the current demand for flexible wearable
7502.330 pF. products, it should be based on the functionalization of tra-
To explore the humidity sensitivity of yarn sensors, the ditional wearable textiles without sacrificing clothing com-
definition of sensitivity needs to be clear first. Here, sensi- fort and fabric style. The reasonable structural design of this
tivity (S) is defined as S  =  ΔC/ΔRH (unit: pF/% RH), where biaxial-sheathed yarn sensor gives it a function of humidity
ΔC is the sensor response, i.e., the change in capacitance, and sensitivity as well as a good cloth comfort. Figure 4j shows
ΔRH is the change of RH.[19] Figure 4c shows the humidity the image of biaxial-sheathed yarn sensor, which can conform
sensitivity comparison among the four sensors, the sensi- well to arbitrary curvilinear surfaces, such as a finger. After
tivity of the CCYS is considerably higher than those of others. 1000 cycles of bending, the yarn was still stable, and the capac-
Those results indicate the effect of the special surface groove itances only slightly increased by 2.1% (Figure 4k). Further-
structures. more, the durability of the sensor under 33% RH condition
has been tested for 7 consecutive days, in which the sensor
responds steadily (Figure S5, Supporting Information). The
2.3.2. Repeatability and Responsiveness sensitive yarns are mounted on the surface of copper wires,
and this wrapped design prevents direct contact between the
Figure 4d illustrates the repeatability performance of the electrode material and the skin, and also served as a wrapping
sensors exposed to 33% and 69% RH from 6% RH over two material that hold the two electrodes.
cycles. At the same time, the response and recovery time of
sensors are important parameters relating to responsiveness,
which is consistent with the above surface area calculation 2.4. Human Respiratory Monitoring
result; Cleancool fiber has the biggest surface area among
these three fibers, enabling it more sensitive and less response Real-time monitoring of human respiration in a noninvasive
time to humidity variation. To measure the response and way, such as monitoring respiratory rate and arrest, is a much-
recovery time (the time to achieve 90% of the total change in needed technique which helps assess the health situation of
the curve),[20] the sensor is first placed into a bottle with RH a person in daily life. The key factor here is the water mole-
6% for 200 s, then transferred to a bottle of RH 33% for 200 s, cules, which are a lot in the breathing air. In this regard, our
and the process is then repeated for one time. From RH 6% humidy sensor with high sensitivity and quick-response ability
to RH 33%, the response and recovery time of CCYS are 3.5 offers accurate, reproducible, reliable, and facile recording of
and 4 s, respectively (Figure 4e). Figure 4f,g and Figures S2–S4 human respiration via noncontact and real-time determination
in the Supporting Information depict that the response and of moisture variation around mouth. This yarn-shaped sensor
recovery time exhibited by PIYS, CMYS, and PTYS is longer is suited for weaving into mask or textile garment, worn
than that of CCYS. around the nose and mouth, and can touch to the breath air
directly. Our sensor is stitched to an ordinary 3M mask to fab-
ricate a smart mask (Figure 5a), which can transmit signals to
2.3.3. Reversibility and Hysteresis Characteristics mobile terminals or upload the data to cloud servers, through
wireless transmission technology for real-time human res-
In order to explore the capacitance response of the sensor to piratory monitoring (Figure 5b). When a person breathes out,
different RH levels, yarn sensors were examined through expo- the exhaled airflow reaches the sensor and the RH increases
sure/recovery cycles under different RHs. Each exposure cycle immediately, thus generating an exhaled signal (orange part of
is performed by an exposure interval of 180 s to a given RH the curve in Figure 5d). In reverse, when a person inhales, the
(6%, 11%, 23%, 33%, 43%, 59%, 69%, 75%, 85%, and 97%), dry air comes to the sensor, and the inhaled signal is generated
and followed by a recovery interval of 180 s at 6% RH. From (blue part of the curve in Figure 5d). As shown in Figure 5c,
Figure 4h and Figures S2–S4 in the Supporting Information, the respiratory signals including a series of respiratory sig-
the larger capacitances of CCYS correspond to the higher RHs, nals are recorded. Accordingly, it could be a warning signal
and the capacitances exhibit a broad range among the four sen- of the health problem if a straight-line signal or an abnormal
sors from 6% to 97% RH. Within the cycle from 6% to 97% signal occurs. Comparison between commercial sensor and
RH, the capacitances change by ≈2457-fold of magnitude. yarn-shaped smart sensor is illustrated in Figure S6 in the
Those results indicate that more water molecules absorbed in Supporting Information, the capacitance variation of the yarn-
CCYS will lead to an increase of the dielectric constant and shaped smart sensor is consistent with the humidity response
capacitance of the sensors.[19,21] detected by the commercial sensor.

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (6 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.advancedsciencenews.com www.afm-journal.de

Figure 5. Application of CCYS in real-time monitoring of human breathing. a) Actual photograph of the human respiratory monitoring mask.
b) The electric circuit for the electric signals amplification and processing. c) Raw respiratory signal received in 90 s under normal breathing
condition and the corresponding exhaled air RH value and inhaled air RH value. d) Amplification signal of one respiratory cycle. e) Optical image of
the yarn-shaped humidity sensor with a fiber inductor coil for LC wireless monitoring. f) Simulated S11 return loss for LC testing system under the
human breath condition.

An LC wireless testing system was also developed to combine 3. Conclusion


the yarn-shaped sensor (Figure 5e). An inductance–capacitance–
resistance (LCR) resonator circuit wherein the sensor, which In this work, an LC wireless human breath monitoring system
was connected in series with a fiber inductor coil, was sewed is designed, which combines the yarn-shaped humidity sensor
in the cotton fabric substrate. Humidity caused capacitance with LC wireless sensing system. CCYS with biaxial-sheathed
change results in a shift of the resonance frequency (f0) of the yarn-shaped structure is fabricated by a homemade machine,
LCR resonator, which was calculated by f = 1/2π LC . The shift where the dielectric layer is yarn with abnormal cross-section,
is monitored wirelessly through the inductor coil coupling with and copper wires are electrodes. Because of the grooves on the
an external reader coil, on the ports of which the input trans- surface of the polyester fibers (dielectric layer), the water mole­
mission coefficient S11 is measured by vector network analyzer cule can be transferred and evaporated through the grooves
(Figure 5f). As a result, the humidity affects the capacitance and quickly. The response and recovery time of CCYS is only 3.5 and
the resonance frequencies of the resonance circuit. Figure 5f 4 s and with little hysteresis. CCYS for monitoring of human
shows the effect of human respiration on resonance frequen- respiration has a good stability. The frequencies of humidity
cies, in which case the frequencies of the sensor shift from sensor detected by LC wireless testing system are 50.25 MHz
50.25 MHz under the exhaled condition to 50.86 MHz under the under the exhaled condition and 50.86 MHz under the inhaled
inhaled situation. situation. Taking advantage of the characteristics of functional

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (7 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.advancedsciencenews.com www.afm-journal.de

yarns with proper yarn structure, the yarn-like humidity sensor Acknowledgements
provides a facile method for the wireless detection of human
This work was supported by the NUS AcRF Tier 1 (R-144-000-416-114),
physiological signals in the field of electronic fabrics.
the “111” project (B16029), the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (Nos. U1405226, 51502253, 51773171, and 21503175), the Natural
Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Grant No. 2016A030310369),
4. Experimental Section Doctoral Fund of the Ministry of Education (20130121110018), the
Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province (Grant No. 2017J01104),
Material: Copper wires were bought from Hua Tian Hardware the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China
Company. The humidity sensitive materials were functional yarns: (Grant Nos. 20720160127, 20720190033, and 20720180013), the Science
Coolmax yarn (Haiyan Jinyi Textile Co., Ltd.), PENTAS yarn (Toray and Technology Project of Xiamen City (3502Z20183012), the 1000 Talents
Synthetic Fiber Co., Ltd.), Cleancool yarn (Shanghai Xingnuo Kanglun Program funding from the Xiamen University, and the Science and
Co., Ltd.), polyimide yarn (Aoshen Co., Ltd.). Lithium bromide (LiBr), Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province (2018B030331001).
lithium chloride (LiCl), potassium acetate (CH3COOK), magnesium The authors also thank the technical supports from Likun Yang, Hao Wang,
chloride (MgCl2), potassium carbonate (K2CO3), sodium bromide and Yun Yang. A minor typographical error was corrected on October 24,
(NaBr), potassium iodide (KI), sodium chloride (NaCl), potassium 2019 after initial online publication.
chloride (KCl), and potassium sulfate (K2SO4) were purchased from
Xiqiao Chemical Co., Ltd.
Fabrication of Biaxial-Sheathed Yarn-Shaped Sensor: As can be seen in Conflict of Interest
Figure 1, the copper wire and sensitive yarn were rinsed with alcohol
and deionized water individually for 10 min at room temperature. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
The yarn-shaped humidity sensor was fabricated on a copper wire
substrate. The sensitive yarn was vertically wrapped on the surface of
the copper wire by a homemade wrapping machine, which combined Keywords
two mechanically rotating motors that allowed the core copper wire
to rotate. The two ends of the pretreated copper wire were fixed humidity sensor, wireless passive system, yarn-shaped sensor
between two motors, and one end of the sensitive yarn was stabilized
on the copper wire. The two motors were corotated at a same Received: June 7, 2019
speed of 1200 rpm. The sensitive yarn was then wrapped vertically Revised: July 10, 2019
along the copper wire, which was controlled by the lateral moving Published online: August 21, 2019
screw in parallel at a constant speed. The yarn with a core-and-sheath
structure was then obtained, which was further placed in parallel with
a copper wire, and both ends were fixed at the two motors for the
[1] a) Z. Z. Zhao, C. Yan, Z. X. Liu, X. L. Fu, L. M. Peng, Y. F. Hu,
second wrapping with the sensitive yarn. At last, the biaxial-sheathed
yarn sensor was fabricated. Z. J. Zheng, Adv. Mater. 2016, 28, 10267; b) R. Cao, X. J. Pu,
Measurement: Yarn samples were characterized by Fourier transform X. Y. Du, W. Yang, J. N. Wang, H. Y. Guo, S. Y. Zhao, Z. Q. Yuan,
infrared spectrometer (Nicolet IN10, Thermo Fisher, China). The surface C. Zhang, C. J. Li, Z. L. Wang, ACS Nano 2018, 12, 5190; c) R. Wu,
and cross-section of the fibers sputtered with gold were observed L. Ma, C. Hou, Z. Meng, W. Guo, W. Yu, R. Yu, F. Hu, X. Y. Liu,
using scanning electron microscopy (ΣIGMA-HD, ZEISS, Germany) Small 2019, 1901558.
at an acceleration voltage of 8 kV. The diameter was calculated [2] a) T. Kinkeldei, C. Zysset, N. Munzenrieder, G. Troster, Sens.
using Photoshop software. In water molecules transport capacity Actuators, B 2012, 174, 81; b) Q. L. Hua, J. L. Sun, H. T. Liu,
characterization, the humidity can be created by an ultrasonic humidifier R. R. Bao, R. M. Yu, J. Y. Zhai, C. F. Pan, Z. L. Wang, Nat. Commun.
using deionized water, and the relative humidity was calibrated by a 2018, 9, 244; c) K. Dong, Z. Y. Wu, J. A. Deng, A. C. Wang, H. Y. Zou,
commercial hygrometer (Vaisala, HMP110, Finland, with a measure C. Y. Chen, D. M. Hu, B. H. Gu, B. Z. Sun, Z. L. Wang, Adv. Mater.
accuracy ±1.5% RH and ±0.2  °C). Dynamic contact angle goniometer 2018, 30, 1804944.
(DSA100, Dataphysics, Germany) was used to observe the moving of [3] a) B. S. Shim, W. Chen, C. Doty, C. L. Xu, N. A. Kotov, Nano Lett.
water-drop on the surface of fibers. 2008, 8, 4151; b) K. Dong, J. N. Deng, Y. L. Zi, Y. C. Wang, C. Xu,
The sensing responses of the humidity sensors were measured H. Y. Zou, W. B. Ding, Y. J. Dai, B. H. Gu, B. Z. Sun, Z. L. Wang,
using saturated salt solutions. The solutions were prepared by Adv. Mater. 2017, 29, 1702648; c) K. Dong, J. A. Deng, W. B. Ding,
dissolving LiBr (RH 6%), LiCl (RH 11%), C2H3KO2 (RH 23%), MgCl2 A. C. Wang, P. H. Wang, C. Y. Cheng, Y. C. Wang, L. M. Jin, B.
(RH 33%), K2CO3 (RH 43%), NaBr (RH 59%), KI (RH 69%), NaCl
H. Gu, B. Z. Sun, Z. L. Wang, Adv. Energy Mater. 2018, 8, 1801114.
(RH 75%), KCl (RH 85%), and K2SO4 (RH 97%) into deionized water
[4] J. Zhou, X. Xiao, X. F. Cheng, B. J. Gao, J. H. He, Q. F. Xu, H. Li,
in test bottle at 25 °C.[13] The commercial hygrometer was applied in
N. J. Li, D. Y. Chen, J. M. Lu, Sens. Actuators, B 2018, 271, 137.
this test bottle to calibrate the relative humidity and temperature. The
capacitance values were measured by an inductance–capacitance– [5] a) X. Y. Li, X. D. Chen, X. P. Chen, X. Ding, X. Zhao, Mater. Chem.
resistance meter (TH2829, Tonghui, Wuxi, China), with a working Phys. 2018, 207, 135; b) D. Z. Zhang, X. Q. Zong, Z. L. Wu,
frequency of 10 kHz and experimental voltage of 1 V. The test system Y. Zhang, Sens. Actuators, B 2018, 266, 52.
was maintained at isothermal condition of 25 °C. The LC wireless [6] Y. L. Zhao, B. Yang, J. Q. Liu, Sens. Actuators, B 2018, 271, 256.
testing system was measured with a circular tin wire reading coil, [7] a) H. Guo, C. Lan, Z. Zhou, P. Sun, D. Wei, C. Li, Nanoscale
which was connected with the ZND vector network analyzer (R&S 2017, 9, 6246; b) S. Borini, R. White, D. Wei, M. Astley, S. Haque,
ZND, Rohde & Schwarz, Germany) to measure the energy loss in S11 E. Spigone, N. Harris, J. Kivioja, T. Ryhanen, ACS Nano 2013, 7,
mode. 11166; c) J. Cai, C. Lv, E. Aoyagi, S. Ogawa, A. Watanabe, ACS Appl.
Mater. Interfaces 2018, 10, 23987.
[8] G. Mattana, T. Kinkeldei, D. Leuenberger, C. Ataman, J. J. Ruan,
F. Molina-Lopez, A. V. Quintero, G. Nisato, G. Troster, D. Briand,
Supporting Information N. F. de Rooij, IEEE Sens. J. 2013, 13, 3901.
Supporting Information is available from the Wiley Online Library or [9] K. Yang, C. Freeman, R. Torah, S. Beeby, J. Tudor, Sens. Actuators, A
from the author. 2014, 213, 108.

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (8 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.advancedsciencenews.com www.afm-journal.de

[10] P. Kubiak, J. Lesnikowski, K. Gniotek, Fibres Text. East. Eur. 2016, 24, [14] H. Farahani, R. Wagiran, M. N. Hamidon, Sensors 2014, 14, 7881.
151. [15] a) S. Houshyar, R. Padhye, O. Troynikov, R. Nayak, S. Ranjan,
[11] a) G. Rosace, V. Trovato, C. Colleoni, M. Caldara, V. Re, M. Brucale, J. Text. Inst. 2015, 106, 1394; b) S. Houshyar, R. Padhye, R. Nayak,
E. Piperopoulos, E. Mastronardo, C. Milone, G. De Luca, Fibers Polym. 2017, 18, 383.
M. R. Plutino, Sens. Actuators, B 2017, 252, 428; b) G. H. Zhou, [16] W. Yu, Textile Materials, China Textile Press, China 2018.
J. H. Byun, Y. Oh, B. M. Jung, H. J. Cha, D. G. Seong, M. K. Um, [17] Y. M. Zheng, H. Bai, Z. B. Huang, X. L. Tian, F. Q. Nie, Y. Zhao,
S. Hyun, T. W. Chou, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9, 4788; J. Zhai, L. Jiang, Nature 2010, 463, 640.
c) I. Marriam, X. P. Wang, M. Tebyetekerwa, G. Y. Chen, F. Zabihi, [18] Y. J. Liu, D. Wang, Adv. Mater. Res. (Durnten-Zurich, Switz.) 2013,
J. Pionteck, S. J. Peng, S. Ramakrishna, S. Y. Yang, M. F. Zhu, 706–708, 292.
J. Mater. Chem. A 2018, 6, 13633. [19] D. Z. Zhang, H. Y. Chang, P. Li, R. H. Liu, Q. Z. Xue, Sens. Actuators,
[12] a) J. H. Jang, J. I. Han, Sens. Actuators, A 2017, 261, 268; B 2016, 225, 233.
b) Y. N. Guo, Z. Y. Gao, X. X. Wang, L. Sun, X. Yan, S. Y. Yan, [20] S. Jagtap, K. R. Priolkar, Sens. Actuators, B 2013, 183, 411.
Y. Z. Long, W. P. Han, RSC Adv. 2018, 8, 1078. [21] a) S. Pokhrel, K. S. Nagaraja, Sens. Actuators, B 2003, 92, 144;
[13] W. Li, F. J. Xu, L. J. Sun, W. Liu, Y. P. Qiu, Sens. Actuators, B 2016, b) B. C. Cheng, B. X. Tian, C. C. Xie, Y. H. Xiao, S. J. Lei, J. Mater.
230, 528. Chem. 2011, 21, 1907.

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019, 29, 1904549 1904549  (9 of 9) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

View publication stats

You might also like