High-resolution temperature sensor fabricated with composed PEDOT: PSS/CuPc for electronic skin

Flexible, biocompatible temperature sensors are of great importance for future developments in wearable electronic skin. Herein, a high resolution, fast response, biocompatible negative temperature coefficient (NTC) temperature sensor comprised of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) and phthalocyanine copper (CuPc) is developed. The addition of CuPc with high electron mobility to PEDOT: PSS increases the effective electron transition under the action of thermal energy, and thus its thermoelectric performance of the material is improved. The packaged sensor can monitor temperature changes in the range of 20 °C to 80 °C in real time with high sensitivity (0.1940% °C-1), linearity (R2=0.994) and accuracy (0.1 °C). When the ambient temperature of the sensor changes from 25 ° C to 50 ° C, the response and recovery time of the sensor are ~ 1 s. The performance of the sensor has not decreased significantly after 4 weeks of continuous operation, which validates the high reliability of the sensor in the extended working time. Furthermore, the comparison between the PEDOT: PSS/CuPc sensor and commercial infrared thermal imager on different parts of the human body temperature measurement shows that the PEDOT: PSS/CuPc sensor is applicable in electronic skin, medical detection and other fields.