Vertical graphene on flexible substrate, overcoming limits of crack-based resistive strain sensors

Abstract Resistive strain sensors (RSS) with ultrasensitivity have attracted much attention as multifunctional sensors. However, since most ultrasensitive RSS are designed by cracked conductive metals, the sensing performance is severely degraded due to accumulated structural deformation with consecutive cycles. To overcome such limitation, newly designed structures have been suggested, but the development of mechanosensors exhibiting superior stability and ultrasensitivity still remains a challenge. Here, we demonstrate that vertical graphene (VG) RSS with high sensitivity (gauge factor greater than 5000), remarkable durability (>10,000 cycles), and extraordinary resilience can serve multifunctional applications. We find that well-defined cracks on tufted network structure result in highly reversible resistance variation, especially revivable status even after broken current path, confirmed by microscopic in situ monitoring. The VG integrated with a wireless sensing system exhibits excellent timbre recognition performance. Our findings provide inspirable insights for mechanosensing system, making VG a promising component for future practicable flexible sensor technologies.