Effect of temperature on the bending fatigue of flexible PDMS/MXene pressure sensor with cilia array

The cilia array structure can effectively improve the sensitivity of the flexible polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/Ti₃C₂ (MXene) pressure sensor, of which the bending stability is strongly temperature-dependent. Herein, the effect of temperature on the bending fatigue of the flexible PDMS/MXene pressure sensor with a cilia array is systematically investigated. The sensor shows little performance degradation after bending 10,000 cycles above 0 °C, however, the bending fatigue tolerance is significantly deteriorated below 0 °C. The finite element and theoretical calculation results indicate that the competition between the hydrogen bond network and strain energy accumulation at the PDMS/MXene interface is the key factor for the bending fatigue endurance. At a temperature above 0 °C, the interfacial energy dissipation by PDMS can alleviate the destruction degree of the hydrogen bond network. As the temperature decreasing below 0 °C, the poor energy dissipation capacity of PDMS accelerates the breakage of the hydrogen bond network and thus further deteriorates the sensor bending endurance.