Performance of inkjet-printed strain sensor based on graphene/silver nanoparticles hybrid conductive inks on polyvinyl alcohol substrate

Recently, there have been considerable interests in strain sensors that are flexible and stretchable, due to their potential for use in wearable electronics applications. Herein, a facile approach has been employed to produce synergistic strain sensor, taking advantage of the salient properties of hybrid conductive inks produced from graphene and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The hybrid ink was inkjet-printed on a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) substrate. The effect of factors such as amount of graphene, annealing time and printing cycle on the performance of the hybrid conductive ink was investigated. The results showed that an increase in the amount of graphene from 0.1 to 0.5 wt% produced about 90% enhancement in the electrical conductivity of the hybrid ink. However, the change in electrical conductivity values of the hybrid ink at 0.5 wt% and 0.7 wt% graphene content is negligible. On the other hand, it was observed that the electrical conductivity was notably influenced by the number of printing cycle, as well as the annealing time. Significantly, the sensitivity performance of the printed hybrid graphene/AgNPs strain sensor is higher than that of individual graphene and AgNPs printed strain sensors under the strain range up to 20%.