Constructing a high-power self-powered electrochemical pressure sensor for multimode pressure detections

Abstract

Electrochemical pressure (ECP) sensors have attracted significant attention and made great progress due to their self-powered potential and ability to monitor both dynamic and static stimuli. However, it is still a great challenge to obtain a high-power ECP sensor to achieve multimode self-powered pressure detections. Here, we construct a high-power ECP sensor using Mg-Cu electrodes and LiCl/polyvinyl alcohol/carbon nanotubes filter paper. The results show that the ECP sensor has a wide response range of 0.6-100 kPa and can output a large current of 6 mA with a maximum power of 2.75 mW at 100 kPa. The pressure sensing mechanism of the ECP sensor is revealed by analyzing the current response, morphological characteristics and chemical reactions. Combining machine learning, the proposed ECP sensor can be used for respiratory pattern recognition. Benefiting from the significant increase in output power, the ECP sensor can be used for multimode pressure detections (i.e., visual pressure detection (pointer milliammeter and light-emitting diodes), auditory pressure detection (buzzer), and self-powered pressure detection systems (infant sleep safety)). As a proof-of-concept, a self-powered infant sleep safety monitoring system prototype based on the ECP sensors is successfully designed. This work provides a reference for developing high-power ECP sensor with multimode pressure detections.