An easily fabricated high performance ionic polymer based sensor network

Ionic polymer materials can generate an electrical potential from ion migration under an external force. For traditional ionic polymer metal composite sensors, the output voltage is very small (a few millivolts), and the fabrication process is complex and time-consuming. This letter presents an ionic polymer based network of pressure sensors which is easily and quickly constructed, and which can generate high voltage. A 3 × 3 sensor array was prepared by casting Nafion solution directly over copper wires. Under applied pressure, two different levels of voltage response were observed among the nine nodes in the array. For the group producing the higher level, peak voltages reached as high as 25 mV. Computational stress analysis revealed the physical origin of the different responses. High voltages resulting from the stress concentration and asymmetric structure can be further utilized to modify subsequent designs to improve the performance of similar sensors.