As an important branch of graphene applications, graphene sensors are widely used in environmental monitoring, biosensing, medical diagnosis and other fields due to their advantages of high sensitivity, fast response and stability, and are expected to achieve explosive growth. As a key growth potential in the field of "new energy and devices", Morion Nanotech has been committed to the research and development and application of graphene sensors.

Recently, Dr. Cai Jinming, the founder of Morion Nanotech, led the R&D team to successfully combine graphene oxide (GO) with silk fibroin (SF) to innovatively prepare a bifunctional graphene aerogel (GSA) with both flexible pressure sensing and efficient oil-water separation. The research results were published in the international high-level journal ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2023, 15, 25, 30630–30642.

Fig.1 Demonstration of the preparation process and physical characteristics of GSA. (a) Description of the preparation process of GSA; (b) ζ potential test results for SF and GO; (c) GSA ultra-light features; (d) GSA conductive properties.

In this study, GSA was further processed into a sandwich structure and its potential as a flexible wearable pressure sensor was further investigated. According to the research results, due to the highly ordered anisotropic structure of GSA, it can quickly and accurately convert stimulus signals into electrical signals through piezoresistive effect.The sensitivities of GSA sensors within 0.5–30 kPa were 0.54 kPa-1 (<4 kPa) and , respectively 0.21 kPa-1 (>4 kPa) with a sensitivity linearity of more than 0.99, and the sensor has a good durability of more than 12,000 After several cycles, the real-time current value remains at about 94% of the initial current value. The GSA sensor is also worn on the human body for health monitoring, voice recognition and motion capture, and test results show that it can detect and recognize a range of pressure signals from small to large levels, including pulses.

Fig.2 Signal monitoring of GSA flexible sensors in different application scenarios. (a) finger tapping; (b) flexion of the fingers; (c) wrist flexion; (d) walking and running; (e) wrist pulse; (f) Pushing the slider at different speeds; (g) throat swallowing; (h) the pronunciation of different letters; (i) The pronunciation of different words.

GSA flexible sensors have the ability to monitor signals in different application scenarios, so as to obtain various biomechanical data. As shown in Figure 2(a), (b), and (c), by attaching GSA flexible sensors to fingers, wrists, etc., and performing actions such as finger tapping, index finger gradual bending, and wrist bending during movement, pulse signals of different intensities can be generated, and these signals can be used to monitor the details of human hand movements. The GSA flexible sensor can also accurately capture the speed of the movement rhythm, such as Figure 2 (d) The movement frequency of walking or running can be effectively detected and distinguished, and Figure 2 (g) The wrist pulse can accurately distinguish the P wave, T wave and D wave of the radial artery pulse. These data further confirm the great application potential of GSA flexible sensors in the field of health monitoring and medical diagnosis.

     In addition, the GSA flexible sensor can keenly identify and analyze weak laryngeal muscle vibrations, as shown in Figure 2 (g), (h), and (i), and can be used as a basis for the application of voice detection and recognition functions in the future.

     At present, with the reduction of the cost of graphene batch preparation and the maturity of the functionalized customization process, the preparation process of graphene sensors has been effectively promoted. This development will bring a wider range of application prospects in the field of sensors, and also point out a new direction for the development of sensors. In the future, graphene sensors will show a more rapid development trend, providing more accurate and efficient sensing solutions for various application scenarios. On the basis of this research achievement, Morion Nanotech will increase R&D investment to provide customers with high-performance, high-quality graphene products and solutions to meet clear market needs such as human-computer interaction and medical feedback sensing.

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