Fast-Response Non-Contact Flexible Humidity Sensor Based on Direct-Writing Printing for Respiration Monitoring

Abstract

Respiratory monitoring is crucial for evaluating health status and identifying potential respiratory diseases such as respiratory failure, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Humidity sensors play a significant role in this regard, and efforts are being made to improve their performance. However, achieving ideal sensor parameters such as sensitivity, detection range, and response speed is challenging. In this work, we propose a flexible preparation method for a double-layer humidity sensor using PDMS as a substrate and a GNP/MWCNT composite material as a sensor element. This sensor exhibits high sensitivity (1.4 RH-1), a wide detection range (20–90%), ultra-fast response (0.35 s) and recovery (2.5 s), high repetitiveness (500 cycles), good long-term stability, and excellent flexibility. Due to these advantages, this sensor has potential applications in real-time clinical and home medical care, such as accurate human respiratory monitoring and non-invasive skin humidity monitoring. Hence, this humidity sensor can be a powerful tool to monitor respiratory moisture levels for diagnosing and treating respiratory diseases effectively.