High-resolution temperature sensor fabricated with composed PEDOT: PSS/CuPc for electronic skin

Flexible, biocompatible temperature sensors are of great importance for future developments in wearable electronic skin. Herein, a high resolution, fast response, biocompatible negative temperature coefficient (NTC) temperature sensor comprised of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) and phthalocyanine copper (CuPc) is developed. The addition of CuPc with high electron mobility to PEDOT: PSS increases the effective electron transition under the action of thermal energy , and thus its thermoelectric performance of the material is improved. The packaged sensor can monitor temperature changes in the range of 20 °C to 80 °C in real time with high sensitivity (0.1940% °C −1 ), linearity (R 2 =0.994) and accuracy (0.1 °C). When the ambient temperature of the sensor changes from 25 °C to 50 °C, the response and recovery time of the sensor are ∼ 1 s. The performance of the sensor has not decreased significantly after 4 weeks of continuous operation, which validates the high reliability of the sensor in the extended working time. Furthermore, the comparison between the PEDOT: PSS/CuPc sensor and commercial infrared thermal imager on different parts of the human body temperature measurement shows that the PEDOT: PSS/CuPc sensor is applicable in electronic skin, medical detection and other fields.