Prototyping and Evaluation of Graphene-Based Piezoresistive Sensors

In this work, the electrical properties of graphene papers were investigated with the aim of developing pressure sensor prototypes for measuring pressures up to 2 kPa. In order to determine which graphene paper would be the most suitable, three different types of graphene papers, synthesized by different routes, were prepared and electrically characterized. The results of electrical characterizations, in terms of electrical conductivity and sheet resistance of graphene papers, are presented and discussed. Prototypes of pressure sensors are proposed, using graphene papers obtained by chemical oxidation (graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide) and by electrochemical exfoliation. The prototypes were tested in static compression/decompression tests in the working range of 0 kPa to 1.998 kPa. The compression/decompression sensitivity values observed in these prototype sensors ranged from 20.8% ΔR/kPa for graphene sensors obtained by electrochemical exfoliation to 110.7% ΔR/kPa for those prepared from graphene oxide obtained by chemical oxidation. More expressive sensitivity values were observed for the sensors fabricated from GO, intermediate values for those made of rGO, while prototypes made of EG showed lower sensitivity.