Pressure Sensors Painted on Flexible Cellulose Substrates from Polyaniline-Based Conductive Ink

Electricallyconductive inks based on polyaniline (PANI)have beenprepared using phytic acid as a cross-linking agent. The resistiveresponse of these inks at low vacuum pressure has been reported inthis article. The polyaniline phytic acid (PPA) ink is mixed withSnO(2) and graphite flakes to form tin oxide-incorporatedpolyaniline phytic acid (PPAS) and graphite-incorporated polyanilinephytic acid (PPAG) ink systems, respectively. The inks have been usedto paint on cellulose substrates to obtain flexible electronic materials.X-ray diffractometry measurements confirm that the prepared ink systems(PPA, PPAS, and PPAG) are crystalline in nature. Surface morphologyand molecular structures are confirmed by scanning electron microscopy,UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infraredspectroscopy, which reveal the formation of a 3D structure of themolecules, reasonably supported by phytic acid having six anionicphosphate groups per molecule. The mechanism governing the chargetransport phenomenon has been discussed based on the electrical andoptical properties of the prepared inks. The experimental resultsdemonstrate that the flexible, use-and-throw vacuum pressure sensorbased on cellulose substrates can be a promising candidate for chemicalprocessing, gas delivery manifolds, and wearable circuitry in artificialintelligence.