Nanoporous Carbon Aerogels for Laser-Printed Wearable Sensors

Laser-induced porous carbon materials have received growing attention as electrodes in micro-supercapacitors, electronics, and biosensors. Herein, resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF) aerogel is used for laser carbonization and activation to produce a nanoporous black conductive surface with high porosity and a specific surface area of 703 m2·g–1 as well as high absorbance to infrared light (∼98%). Furthermore, inspired by the photoreception behavior of octopus arms, a “thunder motif” nanoporous carbon aerogel-based resistance-type sensor is able to be laser-printed on paper-reinforced RF aerogel, which shows high integration of temperature (0.19%·°C–1), strain (gauge factor 16.7), humidity, and especially infrared light (0.12%·mW–1, which is not common for a normal on-skin sensor) sensing in one device and better performance than a serpentine layout sensor. With its good flexibility and biodegradability, this multifunctional sensor can serve as an on-skin wearable sensor that can sense gesture changes and breathing.