Beyond Chemistry: Tailoring Stiffness and Microarchitecture to Engineer Highly Sensitive Biphasic Elastomeric Piezoresistive Sensors.

Carbon-based nanoparticles and conductive polymers are two classes of materials widely used in the production of three-dimensional (3D) piezoresistive sensors. One conductive polymer, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has excellent stability and conductivity yet is limited in its application as a sensor, often existing upon a base, limiting its performance and potential. Despite much progress in the field of materials chemistry and polymer synthesis, one aspect we consider worthy of exploration is the impact that microstructure and stiffness may have on the sensitivity of 3D sensors.