Biomimetic scale-like polysaccharide-based highly-sensitive piezoresistive sensor with "shell-core" nanostructure.

[Display omitted] • Electrospun polysaccharide-based nanofiber membrane with a 3D network structure. • Biomimetic scale-like "core-shell" nanostructured piezoresistive material. • A broadened conductive pathway by in-situ polymerization of PPy. • A broad pressure range (0.13–128.46 kPa) and a high sensitivity (52.42 kPa−1). • Huge potential applicability in remote monitoring. A nanofiber membrane is an ideal carrier for constructing a typical three-dimensional conductive network. Inspired by the biomimetic scale-like nanostructure, polysaccharide-based piezoresistive material with outstanding Joule heating performance, thermal efficiency, and high conductivity is developed, presenting a potential indicator material with the color shifting function for intelligent skin or soft robots in practical applications. The stable core-shell structure due to the in-situ polymerization of polypyrrole (PPy) on the electrospun nanofiber endows the piezoresistive sensor (s-PGG@PPy) with a broad pressure range (0.13–128.46 kPa), high sensitivity (52.42 kPa−1) and fast response time (26 ms). The free motion of π electrons along the nanofibers between carbon atoms perfectly made it an attractive candidate for real-time monitoring of human activities, including bending of fingers, wrist, knee, and facial expression. In addition, designing s-PGG@PPy is to be connected in parallel and composed of an indication function glove, which shows different brightness with finger pressure. Consequently, the reported piezoresistive sensor represents a potential for wearable bioelectronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]