Self-Powered Flexible Humidity Sensor Based on HACC/LiCl Composite Electrolyte

TL;DR

This paper introduces a low-cost, self-powered humidity sensor made using a simple printing process and paper, suitable for applications like respiratory monitoring.

Contribution

A novel self-powered flexible humidity sensor using HACC/LiCl composite electrolyte and screen-printing for easy scalability.

Findings

The sensor detects humidity from 11% to 97% RH with a strong quadratic correlation (R2 = 0.996).

It achieves a peak output voltage of 1.2 V and maintains stability under bending.

The device shows excellent cyclic and long-term stability.

Abstract

To address the challenges of traditional flexible humidity sensors, such as reliance on external power supply, complex fabrication processes, and poor adaptability to energy-limited scenarios, this study successfully developed a low-cost, easily scalable, self-powered flexible humidity sensor based on hydroxypropyl trimethyl ammonium chitosan/lithium chloride (HACC/LiCl) composite electrolyte using a screen-printing process. The device employs A4 paper as the flexible substrate, and interdigitated manganese dioxide (MnO2) positive electrodes, zinc (Zn) negative electrodes, and HACC/LiCl composite electrolyte layers are sequentially fabricated via screen-printing, ultimately constructing a simple primary battery structure. Through a series of performance screening and optimization, 0.1 mol/L LiCl-modified HACC (HL-1) is identified as the optimal electrolyte system. The test results show that the HL-1 sensor exhibits a wide humidity detection range of 11~97% relative humidity (RH), with the output voltage displaying a good quadratic function relationship with humidity (R2 = 0.996), and a peak output voltage of up to 1.2 V. The device possesses excellent cyclic stability and long-term stability, with no significant fluctuation in output voltage under different bending deformation states. This sensor demonstrates broad application prospects in fields such as respiratory monitoring and non-contact sensing, providing a feasible technical path for the development of low-cost passive humidity monitoring equipment.

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