Flexible capacitive pressure sensor based on interdigital electrodes with porous microneedle arrays for physiological signal monitoring

Flexible pressure sensors have many potential applications in the monitoring of physiological signals because of their good biocompatibil-ity and wearability.However,their relatively low sensitivity,linearity,and stability have hindered their large-scale commercial application.Herein,aflexible capacitive pressure sensor based on an interdigital electrode structure with two porous microneedle arrays(MNAs)is pro-posed.The porous substrate that constitutes the MNA is a mixed product of polydimethylsiloxane and NaHCO3.Due to its porous and interdigital structure,the maximum sensitivity(0.07 kPa-1)of a porous MNA-based pressure sensor was found to be seven times higher than that of an imporous MNA pressure sensor,and it was much greater than that of aflat pressure sensor without a porous MNA structure.Finite-element analysis showed that the interdigital MNA structure can greatly increase the strain and improve the sensitivity of the sen-sor.In addition,the porous MNA-based pressure sensor was found to have good stability over 1500 loading cycles as a result of its bilayer parylene-enhanced conductive electrode structure.Most importantly,it was found that the sensor could accurately monitor the motion of afinger,wrist joint,arm,face,abdomen,eye,and Adam’s apple.Furthermore,preliminary semantic recognition was achieved by monitoring the movement of the Adam’s apple.Finally,multiple pressure sensors were integrated into a 33 array to detect a spatial pressure distribu-×tion.Compared to the sensors reported in previous works,the interdigital electrode structure presented in this work improves sensitivity and stability by modifying the electrode layer rather than the dielectric layer.

Capacitive energy storage from single pore to porous electrode identified by frequency response analysis

Rate capability,peak power,and energy density are of vital importance for the capacitive energy storage(CES)of electrochemical energy devices.The frequency response analysis(FRA)is regarded as an efficient tool in studying the CES.In the present work,a bi-scale impedance transmission line model(TLM)is firstly developed for a single pore to a porous electrode.Not only the TLM of the single pore is reparameterized but also the particle packing compactness is defined in the bi-scale.Subsequently,the CES properties are identified by FRA,focused on rate capability vs.characteristic frequency,peak power vs.equivalent series resistance,and energy density vs.low frequency limiting capacitance for a single pore to a porous electrode.Based on these relationships,the CES properties are numerically simulated and theoretically predicted for a single pore to a porous electrode in terms of intra-particle pore length,intra-particle pore diameter,inter-particle pore diameter,electrolyte conductivity,interfacial capacitance&exponent factor,electrode thickness,electrode apparent surface area,and particle packing compactness.Finally,the experimental diagnosis of four supercapacitors(SCs)with different electrode thicknesses is conducted for validating the bi-scale TLM and gaining an insight into the CES properties for a porous electrode to a single pore.The calculating results suggest,to some extent,the inter-particle pore plays a more critical role than the intra-particle pore in the CES properties such as the rate capability and the peak power density for a single pore to a porous electrode.Hence,in order to design a better porous electrode,more attention should be given to the inter-particle pore.

Exploration of the Exceptional Capacitive Deionization Performance of CoMn_(2)O_(4) Microspheres Electrode

The“battery type”inorganic electrode has been demonstrated the highly efficient sodium ion intercalation capacity for capacitive deionization.In this work,the CoMn_(2)O_(4)(CMO)microspheres with porous core-shell structure are prepared via co-precipitation and followed by annealing.The effects of annealing temperatures on the morphology,pore structure,valence state,and electrochemical behavior of CMO are explored.As electrode for capacitive deionization,the salt removal capacity and current efficiency of optimized AC||CMO device reaches up to 60.7 mg g^(−1) and 97.6%,respectively,and the capacity retention rate is 74.1%after 50 cycles.Remarkably,both the in-situ X-ray diffraction and ex-situ X-ray diffraction analysis features that the intercalation/de-intercalation of sodium ions are governed by(103)and(221)crystal planes of CMO.Accordingly,the density functional theory calculations realize that the adsorption energies of Na+onto(103)and(221)crystal planes are higher than that of any other crystal planes,manifesting the priorities in adsorption of sodium atoms.Furthermore,the X-ray photoelectron spectra of pristine and post-CMO electrode highlights that the reversible conversion of Mn^(3+)/Mn^(4+)couple is resulted from the intercalation/de-intercalation of Na^(+),while this is irreversible for Co^(3+)/Co^(2+)couple.Beyond that,the CMO electrode has been proven the selectivity removal of Na^(+) over K^(+)and Mg^(2+)in a multi-cation stream.

Boosting Capacitive Deionization Performance of Commercial Carbon Fibers Cloth via Structural Regulation Based on Catalytic-Etching Effect

Monolithic carbon electrodes with robust mechanical integrity and porous architecture are highly desired for capacitive deionization but remain challenging.Owing to the excellent mechanical strength and electroconductivity,commercial carbon fibers cloth demonstrates great potential as high-performance electrodes for ions storage.Despite this,its direct application on capacitive deionization is rarely reported in terms of limited pore structure and natural hydrophobicity.Herein,a powerful metal-organic framework-engaged structural regulation strategy is developed to boost the desalination properties of carbon fibers.The obtained porous carbon fibers features hierarchical porous structure and hydrophilic surface providing abundant ions-accessible sites,and continuous graphitized carbon core ensuring rapid electrons transport.The catalytic-etching mechanism involving oxidation of Co and subsequent carbonthermal reduction is proposed and highly relies on annealing temperature and holding time.When directly evaluated as a current collector-free capacitive deionization electrode,the porous carbon fibers demonstrates much superior desalination capability than pristine carbon fibers,and remarkable cyclic stability up to 20 h with negligible degeneration.Particularly,the PCF-1000 showcases the highest areal salt adsorption capacity of 0.037 mg cm^(−2) among carbon microfibers.Moreover,monolithic porous carbon fibers-carbon nanotubes with increased active sites and good structural integrity by in-situ growth of carbon nanotubes are further fabricated to enhance the desalination performance(0.051 mg cm^(−2)).This work demonstrates the great potential of carbon fibers in constructing high-efficient and robust monolithic electrode for capacitive deionization.

Recent progress in flexible capacitive sensors:Structures and properties

The future intelligent era that will be brought about by 5G technology can be well predicted.For example,the connection between humans and smart wearable devices will become increasingly more intimate.Flexible wearable pressure sensors have received much attention as a part of this process.Nevertheless,there is a lack of complete and detailed discussion on the recent research status of capacitive pressure sensors composed of polymer composites.Therefore,this article will mainly discuss the key concepts,preparation methods and main performance of flexible wearable capacitive sensors.The concept of a processing“toolbox”is used to review the developmental status of the dielectric layer as revealed in highly cited literature from the past five years.The preparation methods are categorized into types of processing:primary and secondary.Using these categories,the preparation methods and structure of the dielectric layer are discussed.Their influence on the final capacitive sensing behavior is also addressed.Recent developments in the electrode layer are also systematically reviewed.Finally,the results of the above discussion are summarized and future development trends are discussed.

Nano-single-crystal-constructed submicron MnCO_(3) hollow spindles enabled by solid precursor transition combined Ostwald ripening in situ on graphene toward exceptional interfacial and capacitive lithium storage

Hollow structuring has been identified as an effective strategy to enhance the cycling stability of electrodes for rechargeable batteries due to the outstanding volume expansion buffering efficiency,which motivates ardent pursuing on the synthetic approaches of hollow materials.Herein,an intriguing route,combining solid precursor transition and Ostwald ripening(SPTOR),is developed to craft nano single-crystal(SC)-constructed MnCO_(3) submicron hollow spindles homogeneously encapsulated in a reduced graphene oxide matrix(MnCO_(3) SMHSs/rGO).It is noteworthy that the H-bonding interaction between Mn_(3)O_(4) nanoparticles(NPs)and oxygen-containing groups on GO promotes uniform anchoring of Mn_(3)O_(4) NPs on GO,mild reductant ascorbic acid triggers the progressive solid-to-solid transition from Mn_(3)O_(4) NPs to MnCO_(3) submicron solid spindles(SMSSs)in situ on GO,and the Ostwald ripening process induces the gradual dissolution of interior polycrystals of MnCO_(3) SMSSs and subsequent recrystallization on surface SCs of MnCO_(3) SMHSs.Remarkably,MnCO_(3) SMHSs/rGO delivers a 500th lithium storage capacity of 2023 mAh g^(-1) at 1000 mAg^(-1),which is 10 times higher than that of MnCO_(3) microspheres/rGO fabricated from a conventional Mn^(2+)salt precursor(202 mAh g^(-1)).The ultrahigh capacity and ultralong lifespan of MnCO_(3) SMHSs/rGO can be primarily attributed to the superior reaction kinetics and reversibility combined with exceptional interfacial and capacitive lithium storage capability,enabled by the fast ion/electron transfer,large specific surface area,and robust electrode pulverization inhibition efficacy.Moreover,fascinating in-depth lithium storage reactions of MnCO_(3) are observed such as the oxidation of Mn^(2+)in MnCO_(3) to Mn^(3+)in charge process after long-term cycles and the further lithiation of Li_(2)CO_(3) in discharge process.As such,the Carbon Energy.SPTOR approach may represent a viable strategy for crafting various hollow functional materials with metastable nanomaterials as precursors.

Effect of parallel resonance on the electron energy distribution function in a 60 MHz capacitively coupled plasma

In general,as the radio frequency(RF)power increases in a capacitively coupled plasma(CCP),the power transfer efficiency decreases because the resistance of the CCP decreases.In this work,a parallel resonance circuit is applied to improve the power transfer efficiency at high RF power,and the effect of the parallel resonance on the electron energy distribution function(EEDF)is investigated in a 60 MHz CCP.The CCP consists of a power feed line,the electrodes,and plasma.The reactance of the CCP is positive at 60 MHz and acts like an inductive load.A vacuum variable capacitor(VVC)is connected in parallel with the inductive load,and then the parallel resonance between the VVC and the inductive load can be achieved.As the capacitance of the VVC approaches the parallel resonance condition,the equivalent resistance of the parallel circuit is considerably larger than that without the VVC,and the current flowing through the matching network is greatly reduced.Therefore,the power transfer efficiency of the discharge is improved from 76%,70%,and 68%to 81%,77%,and 76%at RF powers of 100 W,150 W,and 200 W,respectively.At parallel resonance conditions,the electron heating in bulk plasma is enhanced,which cannot be achieved without the VVC even at the higher RF powers.This enhancement of electron heating results in the evolution of the shape of the EEDF from a biMaxwellian distribution to a distribution with the smaller temperature difference between high-energy electrons and low-energy electrons.Due to the parallel resonance effect,the electron density increases by approximately 4%,18%,and 21%at RF powers of 100 W,150 W,and 200 W,respectively.

Global simulation of plasma series resonance effect in radio frequency capacitively coupled Ar/O_(2) plasma

Radio frequency capacitively coupled plasmas(RF CCPs)play a pivotal role in various applications in etching and deposition processes on a microscopic scale in semiconductor manufacturing.In the discharge process,the plasma series resonance(PSR)effect is easily observed in electrically asymmetric and geometrically asymmetric discharges,which could largely influence the power absorption,ionization rate,etc.In this work,the PSR effect arising from geometrically and electrically asymmetric discharge in argon-oxygen mixture gas is mainly investigated by using a plasma equivalent circuit model coupled with a global model.At relatively low pressures,as Ar content(α)increases,the inductance of the bulk is weakened,which leads to a more obvious PSR phenomenon and a higher resonance frequency(ω_(psr)).When the Ar content is fixed,varying the pressure and gap distance could also have different effects on the PSR effect.With the increase of the pressure,the PSR frequency shifts towards the higher order,but in the case of much higher pressure,the PSR oscillation would be strongly damped by frequent electron-neutral collisions.With the increase of the gap distance,the PSR frequency becomes lower.In addition,electrically asymmetric waveforms applied to a geometrically asymmetric chamber may weaken or enhance the asymmetry of the discharge and regulate the PSR effect.In this work,the Ar/O_(2) electronegative mixture gas is introduced in a capacitive discharge to study the PSR effect under geometric asymmetry effect and electrical asymmetry effect,which can provide necessary guidance in laboratory research and current applications.

Enhancing surface adhesion of polytetrafluoroethylene induced by two-step in-situ treatment with radiofrequency capacitively coupled Ar/Ar+CH_(4)+NH_(3) plasma

Although some progress in plasma modification of the polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) surface has been made recently,its adhesion strength still needs to be further improved.In this work,the surface of a PTFE sample was treated with a two-step in-situ method.Firstly,the PTFE surface was treated with capacitively coupled Ar plasma to improve its mechanical interlocking performance;then,Ar+NH_(3)+CH_(4) plasma was used to deposit an a-CNx:H cross-linking layer on the PTFE surface to improve the molecular bonding ability.After treatment,a high specific surface area of 2.20 and a low F/C ratio of 0.32 were achieved on the PTFE surface.Its surface free energy was increased significantly and its maximum adhesion strength reached77.1 N·10 mm^(-1),which is 56% higher than that of the single-step Ar plasma-treated sample and32% higher than that of the single-step Ar+CH_(4)+NH_(3) plasma-treated sample.

Capacitive charge storage enables an ultrahigh cathode capacity in aluminum-graphene battery

Aluminum^-graphene battery is promising for its abundant raw materials,high power density,ultralong cycle life and superior safety.However,the development of aluminum^-graphene battery is currently restricted by its insufficient cathode capacity,calling for a newly developed working mechanism.In addition,an irregular constant increase of the cathode capacity was always observed during cycling,but cannot be explained based on the current understanding.Here,we observed an increase of specific capacity by 60%with stable Coulombic efficiency of 98%during 7000 cycles life of Al-graphene batteries employing AlCl3/ET3NHCl electrolyte.We demonstrated this growing cathode capacity is attributed to an increasing contribution of capacitive charge storage during cycling,because a gradually enlarged surface area as capacitive active sites is enabled by the exfoliation of graphitic cathode during the periodic intercalation process.Moreover,the graphene cathode was exfoliated more significantly in AlCl3/ET3NHCl than 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride-based electrolyte,which results from the heavier stress on the graphene layers caused by the larger intercalants in AlCl3/ET3NHCl.The common intercalation of cations with AlCl4-clusters was therefore supposed to occur during charging.This new proposed mechanism can offer the new thought for future design on high-capacity cathode of Al-ion battery.

Insights into Enhanced Capacitive Behavior of Carbon Cathode for Lithium Ion Capacitors: The Coupling of Pore Size and Graphitization Engineering

The lack of methods to modulate intrinsic textures of carbon cathode has seriously hindered the revelation of in-depth relationship between inherent natures and capacitive behaviors,limiting the advancement of lithium ion capacitors(LICs).Here,an orientateddesigned pore size distribution(range from 0.5 to 200 nm)and graphitization engineering strategy of carbon materials through regulating molar ratios of Zn/Co ions has been proposed,which provides an effective platform to deeply evaluate the capacitive behaviors of carbon cathode.Significantly,after the systematical analysis cooperating with experimental result and density functional theory calculation,it is uncovered that the size of solvated PF6-ion is about 1.5 nm.Moreover,the capacitive behaviors of carbon cathode could be enhanced attributed to the controlled pore size of 1.5-3 nm.Triggered with synergistic effect of graphitization and appropriate pore size distribution,optimized carbon cathode(Zn90Co10-APC)displays excellent capacitive performances with a reversible specific capacity of^50 mAh g-1at a current density of 5 A g-1.Furthermore,the assembly pre-lithiated graphite(PLG)//Zn90Co10-APC LIC could deliver a large energy density of 108 Wh kg-1 and a high power density of 150,000 W kg-1 as well as excellent long-term ability with 10,000 cycles.This elaborate work might shed light on the intensive understanding of the improved capacitive behavior in LiPF<sub>6 electrolyte and provide a feasible principle for elaborate fabrication of carbon cathodes for LIC systems.

Atomic layer deposition of TiO_(2) on carbon-nanotubes membrane for capacitive deionization removal of chromium from water

Chromium(Cr)is a common heavy metal that has severe impacts on the ecosystem and human health.Capacitive deionization(CDI)is an environment-friendly and energy-efficient electrochemical purification technology to remove Cr from polluted water.The performance of CDI systems relies primarily on the properties of electrodes.Carbon-nanotubes(CNTs)membranes are promising candidates in creating advanced CDI electrodes and processes.However,the low electrosorption capacity and high hydrophobicity of CNTs greatly impede their applications in water systems.In this study,we employ atomic layer deposition(ALD)to deposit TiO_(2) nanoparticulates on CNTs membranes for preparing electrodes with hydrophilicity.The TiO_(2)-deposited CNTs membranes display preferable electrosorption performance and reusability in CDI processes after only 20 ALD cycles deposition.The total Cr and Cr(VI)removal efficiencies are significantly improved to 92.1%and 93.3%,respectively.This work demonstrates that ALD is a highly controllable and simple method to produce advanced CDI electrodes,and broadens the application of metal oxide/carbon composites in the electrochemical processes.

Design of a hexagonal air-coupled capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer for air parametric array

An air parametric array can generate a highly directional beam of audible sound in air,which has a wide range of applications in targeted audio delivery.Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer(CMUTs)have great potential for air-coupled applications,mainly because of their low acoustic impedance.In this study,an air-coupled CMUT array is designed as an air parametric array.A hexagonal array is proposed to improve the directivity of the sound generated.A finite element model of the CMUT is established in COMSOL software to facilitate the choice of appropriate structural parameters of the CMUT cell.The CMUT array is then fabricated by a wafer bonding process with high consistency.The performances of the CMUT are tested to verify the accuracy of the finite element analysis.By optimizing the component parameters of the bias-T circuit used for driving the CMUT,DC and AC voltages can be effectively applied to the top and bottom electrodes of the CMUT to provide efficient ultrasound transmission.Finally,the prepared hexagonal array is successfully used to conduct preliminary experiments on its application as an air parametric array.

Flexible impedance and capacitive tensile load sensor based on CNT composite

In this paper, the fabrication and investigation of flexible impedance and capacitive tensile load sensors based on carbon nanotube（CNT） composite are reported. On thin rubber substrates, CNTs are deposited from suspension in water and pressed at elevated temperature. It is found that the fabricated load cells are highly sensitive to the applied mechanical force with good repeatability. The increase in impedance of the cells is observed to be 2.0 times while the decrease in the capacitance is found to be 2.1 times as applied force increases up to 0.3 N. The average impedance and capacitive sensitivity of the cell are equal to 3.4 N^（-1） and 1.8 N^（-1）, respectively. Experimental results are compared with the simulated values,and they show that they are in reasonable agreement with each other.

Analysis and Design of Four-Plate Capacitive Wireless Power Transfer System for Undersea Applications

This paper presents a four-plate undersea capacitive wireless power transfer(CPT)system for underwater applications such as autonomous underwater vehicles(AUVs).Generally,a CPT system transfers the power based on electric fields.The complex resonant compensation networks are used to make the CPT system work in the resonant condition.The resonant voltage is always very high.It will be a big challenge to the human safety.In this paper,a virtual electrons periodic reciprocating flow theory is proposed for the CPT system.In one switching cycle,the electrons firstly flow in the forward direction through the forward path and then flow in the inverse direction through the inverse path.The CPT system has been deeply studied with the vacuum dielectric or the air dielectric.However,for the CPT system,there are few papers to show the underwater application.In this paper,an undersea four-plate CPT system is designed and studied in the underwater condition.The two coupling capacitors and other elements of the CPT system could build a closed-loop path.A small value inductor is adapted as a resonant compensation network for the four-plate CPT system.The DC voltage is inverted to the AC voltage in the primary side with the single-phase full-bridge inverter.The resonant voltage is rectified to the DC voltage in the secondary side with the single-phase full-bridge diode rectifier.A 100 W power level CPT system is constructed to verify the theory analysis and the calculation.The theory analysis is verified by the simulated and experimental results.The stable output voltage and load power are achieved in this paper.

PREPARATION OF CAPACITIVE-TYPE CO_2 GASSENSITIVE ELEMENT USING NANOMETER POWDERS

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＲｅｃｅｎｔｌｙ，ａｇｒｅａｔａｔｅｎｔｉｏｎｈａｓｂｅｅｎｐａｉｄｔｏｔｈｅｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔａｎｄａｐｐｌｉｃａｔｉｏｎｏｆｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌｇａｓｓｅｎｓｏｒｓ［１－３］．Ｔｈｅｒｅｓｅａｒｃｈｅｓｏｎｓｏ...

Development of Cd-doped Co Nanoparticles Encapsulated in Graphite Shell as Novel Electrode Material for the Capacitive Deionization Technology

Because of the low energy requirement and the environmentally safe byproducts, the capacitive deionization water desalination technology has attracted the attention of many researchers. The important requirements for electrode materials are good electrical conductivity, high surface area, good chemical stability and high specific capacitance. In this study, metallic nanoparticles that are encapsulated in a graphite shell(Cd doped Co/C NPs) are introduced as the new electrode material for the capacitive deionization process because they have higher specific capacitance than the pristine carbonaceous materials. Cd doped Co/C NPs perform better than graphene and the activated carbon. The introduced nanoparticles were synthesized using a simple sol gel technique. A typical sol gel composed of cadmium acetate, cobalt acetate and poly(vinyl alcohol)was prepared based on the polycondensation property of the acetates. The physiochemical characterizations that were used confirmed that the drying, grinding and calcination in an Ar atmosphere of the prepared gel produced the Cd doped Co nanoparticles, which were encapsulated in a thin graphite layer. Overall, the present study suggests a new method to effectively use the encapsulated bimetallic nanostructures in the capacitive deionization technology.

Capacitive Imaging Technique for the Inspection of Composite Sucker Rod

Composite sucker rod has been extensively used due to its high strength, light weight and corrosion resistive nature. However, such composite sucker rod is diffcult for conventional non-destructive evaluation(NDE) techniques to inspect because of its complex material and/or structure. It is thus useful to embark research on developing novel NDE technique to comply the inspection requirement. This work demonstrates the feasibility of using the capacitive imaging(CI) technique for the inspection of composite sucker rod. Finite element(FE) models were constructed in COMSOL to simulate the detection of defects in the glass-fiber layer and on the carbon core surface. An FE Model based inversion method is proposed to obtain the profile of the carbon core. Preliminary CI experimental results are then presented, including the detection of surface wearing defect in the glass-fiber layer, and obtaining the profile of the carbon core. A set of accelerated aging experiments were also carried out and the results indicate that the CI technique is potentially useful in evaluating the ageing status of such composite sucker rod. The CI technique described in this work shows great potential to target some challenging tasks faced in the non-destructive evaluation of composite sucker rod, including quality control, defect detection and ageing assessment.

Frequency Matching Effects on Characteristics of Bulk Plasmas and Sheaths for Dual-Frequency Capacitively Coupled Argon Discharges: One-Dimensional Fluid Simulation

A one-dimensional fluid model is proposed to simulate the dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma for Ar discharges. The influences of the low frequency on the plasma density, electron temperature, sheath voltage drop, and ion energy distribution at the powered electrode are investigated. The decoupling effect of the two radio-frequency sources on the plasma parameters, especially in the sheath region, is discussed in detail.

Characteristics of dual-frequency capacitively coupled SF_6/O_2 plasma and plasma texturing of multi-crystalline silicon

Due to it being environmentally friendly, much attention has been paid to the dry plasma texturing technique serving as an alternative candidate for multicrystalline silicon （mc-Si） surface texturing. In this paper, capacitively coupled plasma （CCP） driven by a dual frequency （DF） of 40.68 MHz and 13.56 MHz is first used for plasma texturing of mc-Si with SF6/O2 gas mixture. Using a hairpin resonant probe and optical emission techniques, DF-CCP characteristics and their influence on mc-silicon surface plasma texturing are investigated at different flow rate ratios, pressures, and radio-frequency （RF） input powers. Experimental results show that suitable plasma texturing of mc-silicon occurs only in a narrow range of plasma parameters, where electron density ne must be larger than 6.3 x 109 cm-3 and the spectral intensity ratio of the F atom to that of the O atom （[F]/[O]） in the plasma must be between 0.8 and 0.3. Out of this range, no cone-like structure is formed on the mc-silicon surface. In our experiments, the lowest reflectance of about 7.3% for mc-silicon surface texturing is obtained at an [F]/[O] of 0.5 and ne of 6.9 × 109 cm-3.