Table 1.
Material platforms and key metrics for wearable sensors
| Category | Material | Material form | Representative performance | Application demonstration | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon nanomaterials | Carbon nanotube | SWNT–tissue-paper stacked pressure patch |
Sensitivity 2.2 kPa−1 (35–2500 Pa) Sensitivity 1.3 kPa−1 (2500–11,700 Pa) |
Radial pulse monitoring Muscle motion monitoring |
[41] |
| Zigzag CNT-bundle array strain strip |
GF 0.51–64.08 Strain range up to 500% |
Subtle motion monitoring Large motion monitoring |
[44] | ||
| Graphene | GWF-on-tape strain patch |
GF ≈ 103 (2–6% strain) GF ≈ 106 (> 7% strain) |
Phonation monitoring Pulse monitoring |
[45] | |
| Graphene-paper piezoresistive pressure patch |
Working range 0–20 kPa Sensitivity 17.2 kPa−1 (0–2 kPa) |
Respiration monitoring Voice recognition |
[46] | ||
| Crack-engineered LIG-on-PI-fabric strain strip |
R2 = 0.99747 (0–10% strain) GF ≈ 17 (0–10% strain) GF = 420 (0–2% strain, crack-engraved) |
Breathing monitoring Speech-signal recognition |
[47] | ||
| Metallic conductors and liquid–metal systems | Nanowire | Kirigami AgNW transparent electrode |
Optical transparency > 80% Tensile strain > 400% 10,000-cycle reversibility |
Electrophysiology monitoring Heater actuation |
[2] |
| Aligned nanowire strain strip |
GF ≈ 35.8 Response ≈ 230 ms Hysteresis < 8.1% 1000 cycles; power < 35 µW |
Finger motion monitoring Swallowing monitoring |
[50] | ||
| Liquid metal | Galinstan microchannel diaphragm pressure sensor |
Sub-50 Pa resolution < 100 Pa detection limit Response 90 ms Sensitivity 0.0835 kPa−1 |
Pulse monitoring Tactile-pressure sensing |
[49] | |
| LM-on-hydrogel fine-line patterning | Minimum linewidth 85 µm |
Hydrogel interconnect patterning Self-healing prototyping |
[51] | ||
| Conducting polymers and MXene-based 2D conductors | Conducting polymer | STEC-PEDOT film conductor |
> 3100 Scm−1 (0% strain) > 4100 Scm−1 (100% strain) 3600 Scm−1 after 1000 cycles at 100% strain |
Interconnect routing Transistor-array integration |
[4] |
| oCVD-PEDOT-on-fabric pressure sensor |
Sensitivity 8 kPa−1 Response/recovery 260/30 ms (≈ 1.8 kPa) |
Fabric-pressure sensing Wearable monitoring |
[53] | ||
| MXene | MXene–PANIF tile-stacked strain strip |
GF up to 2369.1 Range up to 80% strain Detection limit 0.1538% strain |
Pulse monitoring Wireless transmission |
[57] | |
| Waterproof MXene sponge pressure sensor |
Sensitivity 10.8 kPa−1 Detection limit 4.6 Pa Response/recovery 40/60 ms 5000 cycles; WCA 142° |
Pressure mapping Waterproof monitoring |
[58] | ||
| Core–sheath CPMY yarn multimodal textile sensor |
Pressure sensitivity 16.21 N−1 (range 5 N) Durability 2000 cycles GF 12.09 (0–100% strain) |
Multimodal discrimination Gesture recognition |
[39] | ||
| Electromechanical transduction materials | Piezoelectric materials | PZT-based wrist-mounted piezoelectric sensor array |
Grade A BP accuracy Error − 0.05 ± 4.61 mmHg for systolic BP Error 0.11 ± 3.68 mmHg for diastolic BP |
Continuous wireless blood-pressure monitoring | [38] |
| PDA@BTO/PVDF nanofiber nonwoven piezoelectric textile |
Sensitivity 3.95 V N−1 < 3% signal decline after 7400 cycles |
Pulse monitoring Motion monitoring Voice recognition |
[60] | ||
| Triboelectric materials | PDMS-based ultrastretchable transparent triboelectric e-skin |
Uniaxial stretchability 1160% Average visible transmittance 96.2% Peak power density 35 mW m−2 |
Biomechanical energy harvesting Tactile sensing |
[11] | |
| PDMS-coated yarn 3D braided triboelectric textile |
Open-circuit voltage 90 V at 3 Hz and 20 N Peak power density 26 W m−3 Weight resolution < 0.1 g |
e-textile power harvesting Self-powered sensing |
[62] |