Bifunctional Fe3O4@AuNWs particle as wearable bending and strain sensor

Abstract We report on synthesis of a new bifunctional particle carefully designed and engineered with additional magnetic sensing functionality on top of existing gold nanowires platform with good electrical conductivity. The bifunctional particle synthesized can be utilized for fabrication of soft wearable sensors. The pressure sensor fabricated using bifunctional particle shows a linear response to wide range of pressure from 500 Pa to 10 kPa with sensitivity of 0.6 kPa −1 . For strain sensing, the gauge factor was divided into two sections, one with low strain of ~1% to 20% with gauge factor of 2.15 and another with high strain from ~20% to 100% with gauge factor of 0.45. The durability of the strain sensor was tested under cyclic loading test of 10,000 cycles with 10% strain without any performance loss. The strain limit was also investigated and sensor was found to lose its conductivity at ~170% strain. The bifunctional particle sensor system was also demonstrated its capability for magnetic field sensing and wind speed sensing.