journal article·2026-07Open access

A Crack‐Based One‐Dimensional Microspheres Array Enables Thermal–Mechanical Decoupled Dual‐Functional Sensing

Wanqing Xu, Hongyi Tu, Zehao Wang, Tianyu Zhu, Chao Wang, Min Chen, Lan Shi, Limin Wu

Advanced Science· Volume 13· Issue 41

Abstract

ABSTRACT Strain sensors in soft‐material and flexible‐electronic systems face a fundamental challenge: isotropic thermal expansion can generate parasitic signals that obscure true mechanical deformation. This issue is particularly severe in crack‐based sensors, whose extreme morphological sensitivity causes thermally driven crack evolution to interfere with strain transduction. Inspired by the bead‐chain morphology of Nostoc , we introduce a crack‐based one‐dimensional microspheres array (COMA) that stabilizes crack geometry under isotropic expansion, enabling a predictable, monotonic thermal response from which true strain can be accurately extracted. Conductive polyaniline (PANI)@ polystyrene (PS) microspheres unidirectionally assembled into grooved elastomers form discrete, crack‐like junctions that convert ultralow mechanical deformation (≤0.5%) into pronounced electrical signals. The COMA sensor exhibits a stable thermal response of 75.2%°C −1 (20°C–60°C) and, when integrated with a multilayer perceptron model, classifies four operational states of a pouch cell with 97.0% accuracy. This bioinspired and structurally guided strategy establishes a general approach for constructing multimodal, thermomechanically stable, intelligent flexible sensors.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials · Mechanical and Optical Resonators · Advanced Materials and Mechanics

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

College of Smart Materials and Future Energy State Key Laboratory of Coatings for Advanced Equipment Advanced Coatings Research Center of Ministry of Education of China Fudan University Shanghai China

Funding

National Key Research and Development Program of China · National Natural Science Foundation of China

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