Biomimetic hydrogel-CNT network induced enhancement of fluid-structure interactions for ultrasensitive nanosensors

• Main Authors: Bora, Meghali (Author), Kottapalli, Ajay Giri Prakash (Author), Miao, Jianmin (Author), Triantafyllou, Michael S (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer Nature America, Inc, 2019-03-07T19:48:35Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

 Flexible, self-powered, miniaturized, ultrasensitive flow sensors are in high demand for human motion detection, myoelectric prosthesis, biomedical robots, and health-monitoring devices. This paper reports a biomimetic nanoelectromechanical system (NEMS) flow sensor featuring a PVDF nanofiber sensing membrane with a hydrogel infused, vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) bundle that mechanically interacts with the flow. The hydrogel-VACNT structure mimics the cupula structure in biological flow sensors and gives the NEMS flow sensor ultrahigh sensitivity via a material-induced drag force enhancement mechanism. Through hydrodynamic experimental flow characterization, this work investigates the contributions of the mechanical and structural properties of the hydrogel in offering a sensing performance superior to that of conventional sensors. The ultrahigh sensitivity of the developed sensor enabled the detection of minute flows generated during human motion and micro-droplet propagation. The novel fabrication strategies and combination of materials used in the biomimetic NEMS sensor fabrication may guide the development of several wearable, flexible, and self-powered nanosensors in the future.