这项工作得到了中国国家自然科学基金资助62273304。

1. ECPCS浆料的合成
<ol><li>将碳纳米管以1：30的重量比分散到甲苯溶剂中，并以1：1的重量比用甲苯稀释PDMS碱。 注意：整个实验过程（ 如图1所示）应在通风良好的通风橱中进行。</li>
	<li>在室温下磁力搅拌CNT /甲苯悬浮液和PDMS /甲苯溶液1小时。 注意：此步骤允许CNT在以下步骤中很好地分散到PDMS矩阵中。</li>
	<li>将碳纳米管/甲苯悬浮液和PDMS/甲苯溶液混合，形成液态碳纳米管/PDMS/甲苯混合物，并在80°C的加热板上磁力搅拌该混合物以蒸发溶剂（甲苯）。 注意：溶剂的蒸发会增加溶液粘度，需要精确控制，以促进下一步的混合过程。溶剂完全蒸发所需的时间为2小时。</li>
	<li>将PDMS固化剂以10：1的重量比添加到CNT/PDMS/甲苯混合物中。 注意：在此阶段，ECPCs浆料的合成已完成。</li>
</ol>2. 基于微流控通道的可拉伸电极的制备
<ol><li>使用传统的光刻技术在Si晶片上制备具有不同图案的微流体通道的SU-8基模具。 注意：模具的光刻工艺遵循所用光刻胶数据表中建议的标准方法;模具的厚度约为100μm，而所有迹线结构均使用50μm，100μm和200μm三种不同的线宽。</li>
	<li>通过将模具浸入（3-氨基丙基）三乙氧基硅烷溶液中，在SU-8模具上进行硅烷化过程。 注：此步骤有助于剥离PDMS。</li>
	<li>以10：1的重量比混合PDMS基础溶液和固化剂，并将未固化的PDMS混合物放入真空干燥器中，直到所有气泡消失。</li>
	<li>将脱气混合物倒入步骤2.1制造的模具上，并将模具与未固化的PDMS溶液一起置于85°C的加热板上1小时，使PDMS完全固化并将模具的图案转移到固化的PDMS薄膜上。在刀片的帮助下剥离PDMS层。</li>
	<li>将步骤1中制备的少量ECPC浇铸到PDMS表面上。在剃须刀片的帮助下，沿着压花微流体通道小心地刮擦ECPC浆液。 注意：在此刮涂过程中，高粘度的ECPC浆料被有效地捕获在微通道图案中，并且PDMS表面上残留的残留物可以同时被刀片去除。如果很难将ECPC浆料刮入微通道，建议加热样品以增加其粘度。该涂层步骤可以重复多次，直到填充微通道并形成连续导电电极。</li>
	<li>将样品在70°C下加热2小时。</li>
	<li>使用导电银浆将铜线连接到最后一步制造的电极的两端。连接点由粘合橡胶密封胶进一步密封和保护。 注意：在此阶段，基于ECPC的可拉伸电极的制造已经完成，如图 2所示。</li>
</ol>3. 电容式压力传感器的制造
<ol><li>使用所提出的方法（步骤2.1-2.7）制备具有指指条纹效应设计的软电极。 注意：叉指条纹效应设计的电极间间隙和线宽设置为相同，并制造了两种配置：200 μm 和 300 μm。在加热程序（步骤2.6）之前，建议用胶带清洁电极表面，以避免叉指结构中的两个电极迹线之间发生潜在的短路，因为透明胶带可以选择性地粘附在PDMS表面上残留的过量未固化的ECPC浆液上，并且可以保留填充在微通道中的ECPC。</li>
	<li>准备一个3D打印的模具。 注意：模具设计为具有一个空腔（宽3厘米，长4厘米，高10毫米），并带有一个开口，可以将液态硅胶倒入其中。</li>
	<li>将铂金有机硅软质泡沫的两种成分与 A 部分：B 部分的重量比 1：1 和 6：1 充分混合，以制备具有两种孔径的软硅胶泡沫的介电层。快速搅拌。 注意：孔隙率可以通过调整A部分和B部分的混合比例来控制。</li>
	<li>将最后一步的混合物倒入步骤3.2中制造的模具中。</li>
	<li>使用带有多个孔的板来覆盖模具开口。</li>
	<li>将混合物在室温下固化1小时。 注意：由于硅胶泡沫在固化后膨胀到其原始体积的两到三倍，泡沫会从孔中长出来，这意味着型腔中泡沫的厚度将等于模腔的高度。</li>
	<li>切下穿过孔的多余硅胶泡沫，然后取下电路板。</li>
	<li>将准备好的介电泡沫放在叉指软电极层的顶部，以完成压力传感器的制造。 注意：固化硅胶泡沫的厚度为10毫米。</li>
</ol>4. 电极应变表征
<ol><li>将步骤2中制造的电极夹在改进的步进电机的移动级之间。</li>
	<li>通过控制移动平台拉伸电极，对电极施加单轴应变。 注意： 应用的拉伸性可以根据移动平台的位移计算得出。</li>
	<li>使用万用表记录电阻测量值。</li>
</ol>5. 电极的压力表征
<ol><li>制造具有与叉指电极等效设计的锯齿形电极（步骤2.1-2.7）。 注意：考虑到叉指电极的梳状电极有多个手指，锯齿形电极设计为将手指组装在单个导电通路中，以评估叉指电极的电性能。测试电极包括六个手指，宽度为300μm，手指之间的间距为2mm。</li>
	<li>通过连接 3D 打印的装载杆（直径 2.5 厘米）、标准压力传感器和步进电机的移动平台来组装压力加载平台。</li>
	<li>将制造的电极放在3D打印的加载杆下方。</li>
	<li>通过控制移动平台对电极施加压力，以驱动加载杆以编程的距离垂直向电极移动。 注意：压力可以通过设置移动平台的位移来控制，标准压力是通过标准力传感器的力测量计算的。</li>
	<li>使用万用表记录电阻测量值。</li>
</ol>6. 电容式压力传感器的压力表征
<ol><li>使用与步骤5相同的平台对步骤3中制造的电容式压力传感器施加压力。</li>
	<li>使用 LCR 表记录电容测量值。 注意：电容是在 1 kHz 的测试频率下测量的。</li>
</ol>

用于电容式压力传感的基于微流体通道的软电极

<ol>
	<li>Sun, Z. D., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Artificial+intelligence+of+things+(AIoT)+enabled+virtual+shop+applications+using+self-powered+sensor+enhanced+soft+robotic+manipulator.">Artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) enabled virtual shop applications using self-powered sensor enhanced soft robotic manipulator.</a> Advanced Science. 8 (14), 2100230 (2021).</li><li>Lo, L. -. W., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Inkjet-printed+soft+resistive+pressure+sensor+patch+for+wearable+electronics+applications.">Inkjet-printed soft resistive pressure sensor patch for wearable electronics applications.</a> Advanced Materials Technology. 5 (1), 1900717 (2020).</li><li>Zhu, M. L., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Haptic-feedback+smart+glove+as+a+creative+human-machine+interface+(HMI)+for+virtual/augmented+reality+applications.">Haptic-feedback smart glove as a creative human-machine interface (HMI) for virtual/augmented reality applications.</a> Science Advances. 6 (19), (2020).</li><li>Woo, S. -. J., Kong, J. -. H., Kim, D. -. G., Kim, J. -. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+thin+all-elastomeric+capacitive+pressure+sensor+array+based+on+micro+contact+printed+elastic+conductors.">A thin all-elastomeric capacitive pressure sensor array based on micro contact printed elastic conductors.</a> Journal of Materials Chemistry C. 2 (22), 4415-4422 (2012).</li><li>Tang, J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Highly+stretchable+electrodes+on+wrinkled+polydimethylsiloxane+substrates.">Highly stretchable electrodes on wrinkled polydimethylsiloxane substrates.</a> Scientific Reports. 5, 16527 (2015).</li><li>Lo, L. -. W., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=An+inkjet-printed+PEDOT:PSS-based+stretchable+conductor+for+wearable+health+monitoring+device+applications.">An inkjet-printed PEDOT:PSS-based stretchable conductor for wearable health monitoring device applications.</a> ACS Applied Materials &amp; Interfaces. 13 (18), 21693-21702 (2021).</li><li>Luo, R. -. B., Li, H. -. B., Du, B., Zhou, S. -. S., Zhu, Y. -. X. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+simple+strategy+for+high+stretchable,+flexible+and+conductive+polymer+films+based+on+PEDOT:PSS-PDMS+blends.">A simple strategy for high stretchable, flexible and conductive polymer films based on PEDOT:PSS-PDMS blends.</a> Organic Electronics. 76, 105451 (2020).</li><li>Zhang, Y., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Highly+stable+flexible+pressure+sensors+with+a+quasi-homogeneous+composition+and+interlinked+interfaces.">Highly stable flexible pressure sensors with a quasi-homogeneous composition and interlinked interfaces.</a> Nature Communications. 13, 1317 (2022).</li><li>Hong, S., Lee, S., Kim, D. -. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Materials+and+design+strategies+of+stretchable+electrodes+for+electronic+skin+and+its+applications.">Materials and design strategies of stretchable electrodes for electronic skin and its applications.</a> Proceedings of the IEEE. 107 (10), 2185-2197 (2019).</li><li>Shi, H., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Screen-printed+soft+capacitive+sensors+for+spatial+mapping+of+both+positive+and+negative+pressures.">Screen-printed soft capacitive sensors for spatial mapping of both positive and negative pressures.</a> Advanced Functional Materials. 29 (23), 1809116 (2019).</li><li>Mahmoudinezhad, M. H., Anderson, I., Rosset, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Interdigitated+sensor+based+on+a+silicone+foam+for+subtle+robotic+manipulation.">Interdigitated sensor based on a silicone foam for subtle robotic manipulation.</a> Macromolecular Rapid Communications. 42 (5), 2000560 (2019).</li></ol>

作者没有什么可透露的。

在该协议中，我们已经展示了一种用于可拉伸电极的新型基于微流控通道的打印方法。电极的导电材料ECPCs浆料可以通过溶剂蒸发法制备，该方法允许CNT很好地分散到PDMS基质中，从而形成具有与PDMS基板一样高的拉伸性的导电聚合物。
在刮削过程中，ECPC浆液在剃须刀片的帮助下快速填充到PDMS微流体通道中。因此，浆料的粘度在刮削操作中起着至关重要的作用。ECPC浆料的较低?...

软压力传感器在气动机器人抓手1、可穿戴电子产品2、人机界面系统3等应用中得到了广泛的探索。在此类应用中，传感系统需要柔韧性和拉伸性，以确保与任意曲线表面的保形接触。因此，它需要所有基本组件，包括基板、转导元件和电极，以便在极端变形条件下提供一致的功能4。此外，为了保持高传感性能，必须将软电极的变化保持在最小水平，以避免对电传感信号的干扰5。
作为软压力传感器的核心组件之一，能够承受高应力和应变水平的可拉伸电极对于器件保持稳定的导电通路和阻抗特性至关重要6，7。具有优异性能的软电极通常具有1）微米级的高空间分辨率和2）高拉伸性，与基板的粘合性强，这些是实现可穿戴尺寸高度集成的软电子元件不可或缺的特性8。因此，近年来提出了各种策略来开发具有上述性能的软电极，例如喷墨印刷，丝网印刷，喷雾印刷和转移印刷等。9.喷墨打印方法6因其制造简单，无遮蔽要求，材料浪费量少的优点而得到广泛应用，但由于油墨粘度方面的限制，很难实现高分辨率图案化。丝网印刷10和喷印11是简单且具有成本效益的图案化方法，需要在基材上涂上阴影遮罩。但是，放置或移除遮罩的操作会降低图案的清晰度。尽管据报道转移印刷4是实现高分辨率印刷的一种有前途的方法，但这种方法存在复杂的程序和耗时的印刷过程。此外，通过这些图案化方法生产的大多数软电极具有其他缺点，例如从基板分层。
本文提出了一种基于微流控通道构型的快速制备高性价比和高分辨率软电极的新型印刷方法。与其他传统制备方法相比，该策略利用弹性导电聚合物复合材料（ECPCs）作为导电材料，并采用光刻压花微流控通道对电极迹线进行图案化。ECPCS浆料通过溶剂蒸发法制备，由7重量%的碳纳米管（CNTs）组成，这些碳纳米管（CNTs）充分分散在聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）基质中。通过将ECPC浆料刮入微流体通道，可以生产由光刻图案定义的高分辨率电极。此外，由于电极主要基于PDMS，因此在基于ECPC的电极与PDMS基板之间的界面处会产生强粘合。因此，电极可以维持与PDMS基板一样高的拉伸水平。实验结果表明，所提出的可拉伸电极对轴向应变的响应率高达30%，在0-400 kPa的高压范围内表现出优异的稳定性，表明该方法在制备电容式压力传感器软电极方面具有巨大潜力，这也在这项工作中得到了证明。

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Camera</td>
			<td>OPLENIC DIGITAL CAMERA</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Carbon nanotubes (CNTs)</td>
			<td>Nanjing Xianfeng Nano-technology</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Diameter:10-20 nm,Length:10-30 &#956;m</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hotplate Stirrer</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific</td>
			<td>Super-Nuova+</td>
			<td>Stirring and Heating Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LCR meter</td>
			<td>Keysight</td>
			<td>E4980AL</td>
			<td>Capacitance Measurment Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microscope</td>
			<td>SDPTOP</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Multimeter</td>
			<td>Fluke</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Resistance measurment Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Oven</td>
			<td>Yamoto</td>
			<td>DX412C</td>
			<td>Heating equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Photo mask</td>
			<td>Shenzhen Weina Electronic Technology</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Photoresist</td>
			<td>Microchem</td>
			<td>SU-8 3050</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)</td>
			<td>Dow Corning</td>
			<td>Sylgard 184</td>
			<td>Silicone Elastomer</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Silicone Foam</td>
			<td>Smooth on</td>
			<td>Soma Foama 25</td>
			<td>Two-component Platinum Silicone Flexible Foam</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Silicone wafer</td>
			<td>Suzhou Crystal Silicon Electronic &#38; Technology</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Diameter:2inch</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stirrer</td>
			<td>IKA</td>
			<td>Color Squid</td>
			<td>Stirring Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Toluene</td>
			<td>Sinopharm Chemical Reagent</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Solvent for the Preparation of ECPCs</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Triethoxysilane</td>
			<td>Macklin</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

microfluidic channel-based soft electrodes and their application in capacitive pressure sensing

柔性和可拉伸电极是软人工感觉系统中的重要组成部分。尽管柔性电子学最近取得了进展，但大多数电极要么受到图案分辨率的限制，要么受到使用高粘度超弹性材料喷墨打印能力的限制。在本文中，我们提出了一种简单的策略来制备基于微通道的可拉伸复合电极，这可以通过将弹性导电聚合物复合材料（ECPCs）刮入光刻压花微流体通道来实现。采用挥发性溶剂蒸发法制备了ECPCs，实现了碳纳米管（CNTs）在聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）基质中的均匀分散。与传统的制造方法相比，所提出的技术可以促进使用高粘度浆料快速制造定义明确的可拉伸电极。由于本研究中的电极由全弹性材料组成，因此在微通道壁的界面处，基于ECPC的电极和基于PDMS的基板之间可以形成强的互连，这使得电极在高拉伸应变下表现出机械鲁棒性。此外，还系统地研究了电极的机械电响应。最后，将电介质有机硅泡沫和叉指电极（IDE）层相结合，开发了一种软压力传感器，这证明了压力传感器在软机器人触觉传感应用中的巨大潜力。

Soft pressure sensors have been widely explored in applications such as pneumatic robotic grippers1, wearable electronics2, human-machine interface systems3, etc. In such applications, the sensory system requires flexibility and stretchability to ensure conformal contact with arbitrary curvilinear surfaces. Therefore, it requires all the essential components, including the substrate, the transducing element, and the electrode, to provide consistent functionality under extreme deformation conditions4. Moreover, to maintain high sensing performance, it is essential to keep the changes in the soft electrodes to the minimum level to avoid interference in the electrical sensing signals5.
As one of the core components in soft pressure sensors, stretchable electrodes capable of sustaining high stress and strain levels are crucial for the device to preserve stable conductive pathways and impedance characteristics6,7. Soft electrodes with excellent performance usually possess 1) high spatial resolution at the micrometer scale and 2) high stretchability with strong bonding to the substrate, and these are indispensable characteristics to enable highly integrated soft electronics in a wearable size8. Therefore, various strategies have been proposed recently to develop soft electrodes with the above properties, such as ink-jet printing, screen printing, spray printing, and transfer printing, etc.9. The ink-jet printing method6&#160;has been widely used due to its advantages of simple fabrication, no masking requirement, and a low amount of material waste, but it is hard to achieve high-resolution patterning due to limitations in terms of the ink viscosity. Screen printing10&#160;and spray printing11&#160;are simple and cost-effective patterning methods that require a shadow mask on the substrate. However, the operation of placing or removing the mask can reduce the clarity of the patterning. Although transfer printing4 has been reported to be a promising way to achieve high-resolution printing, this method suffers from a complicated procedure and a time-consuming printing process. Furthermore, most of the soft electrodes produced by these patterning methods have other disadvantages, such as delamination from the substrate.
Herein, we present a novel printing method for the rapid fabrication of cost-effective and high-resolution soft electrodes based on microfluidic channel configurations. Compared to other conventional fabrication methods, the proposed strategy utilizes elastic conductive polymer composites (ECPCs) as the conductive material and lithographically embossed microfluidic channels to pattern the electrode traces. The ECPCs slurry is prepared by the solvent evaporation method and consists of 7 wt.% carbon nanotubes (CNTs) well-dispersed in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. By scraping the ECPCs slurry into the microfluidic channel, high-resolution electrodes defined by lithographic patterning can be produced. In addition, since the electrode is mainly based on PDMS, strong bonding is created at the interface between the ECPCs-based electrode and the PDMS substrate. Thus, the electrode can sustain a stretch level as high as the PDMS substrate. The experimental results confirm that the proposed stretchable electrode can respond linearly to axial strains up to 30% and exhibit excellent stability in a high-pressure range of 0-400 kPa, indicating the great potential of this method for fabricating soft electrodes in capacitive pressure sensors, which is also demonstrated in this work.

作者聚焦：基于微流体通道的软电极及其在电容式压力传感中的应用  

基于微流控通道的软电极及其在电容式压力传感中的应用

按照该协议，ECPC可以通过微流体通道进行图案化，从而形成具有高分辨率的可拉伸电极。 图3A， B 显示了具有不同迹线设计和打印分辨率的软电极的照片。 图3C 显示了制造电极的不同线宽，包括50 μm、100 μm和200 μm。每个电极的电阻如图 3D所示，它表明电阻随着线宽的减小而增加，正如基于欧姆定律所预期的那样。?...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Microfluidic Channel-Based Soft Electrodes and Their Application in Capacitive Pressure Sensing at JoVE.com

柔性电极在软机器人和可穿戴电子产品中具有广泛的应用。该协议展示了一种通过光刻定义的微流体通道 制造 高分辨率高度可拉伸电极的新策略，这为未来的高性能软压力传感器铺平了道路。

Flexible and stretchable electrodes are essential components in soft artificial sensory systems. Despite recent advances in flexible electronics, most ...

我们的研究真正专注于用于传感应用的柔性和可拉伸电子产品，同时尝试为柔性电子系统开发创新材料和制造。柔性和可拉伸电极是软人工感觉系统中的重要组成部分。尽管柔性电子学最近取得了进展，但大多数电极要么受到图案分辨率的限制，要么受到喷墨打印（高粘度超弹性材料）能力的限制。在该协议中，我们已经展示了一种用于可拉伸电极的新型基于微流控通道的打印方法。电极的导电材料ECPC地板可以刮入微通道，从而形成导电聚合物，其拉伸性与PDMS基板一样高。与现有喷墨印刷、刮印、喷印、转移印等制备方法产生的动作相比，所提出的基于微流控通道的软电子具有高印刷分辨率和高拉伸性的优点，与基材结合力强。本研究中提出的协议结合了可拉伸材料和微流体通道的结合，提供了一种低成本和快速的应用方法，用于生产用于软机器人触觉传感应用的高分辨率、可拉伸电子。

microfluidic-channel-based-soft-electrodes-their-application

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JoVE Journal

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Microfluidic Channel-Based Soft Electrodes and Their Application in Capacitive Pressure Sensing

1.3K 次观看.  Zhejiang University. 我们的研究真正专注于用于传感应用的柔性和可拉伸电子产品，同时尝试为柔性电子系统开发创新材料和制造。柔性和可拉伸电极是软人工感觉系统中的重要组成部分。尽管柔性电子学最近取得了进展，但大多数电极要么受到图案分辨率的限制，要么受到喷墨打印（高粘度超弹性材料）能力的限制。在该协议中，我们已经展示了一种用于可拉伸电极的新型基于微流控通?...

视频: 作者聚焦：基于微流体通道的软电极及其在电容式压力传感中的应用  

Flexible and stretchable electrodes are essential components in soft artificial sensory systems. Despite recent advances in flexible electronics, most electrodes are either restricted by the patterning resolution or the capability of inkjet printing with high-viscosity super-elastic materials. In this paper, we present a simple strategy to fabricate microchannel-based stretchable composite electrodes, which can be achieved by scraping elastic conductive polymer composites (ECPCs) into lithographically embossed microfluidic channels. The ECPCs were prepared by a volatile solvent evaporation method, which achieves a uniform dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. Compared to conventional fabrication methods, the proposed technique can facilitate the rapid fabrication of well-defined stretchable electrodes with high-viscosity slurry. Since the electrodes in this work were made up of all-elastomeric materials, strong interlinks can be formed between the ECPCs-based electrodes and the PDMS-based substrate at the interfaces of the microchannel walls, which allows the electrodes to exhibit mechanical robustness under high tensile strains. In addition, the mechanical-electric response of the electrodes was also systematically studied. Finally, a soft pressure sensor was developed by combining a dielectric silicone foam and an interdigitated electrodes (IDE) layer, and this demonstrated great potential for pressure sensors in soft robotic tactile sensing applications.

Flexible electrodes have a wide range of applications in soft robotics and wearable electronics. The present protocol demonstrates a new strategy to fabricate highly stretchable electrodes with high resolution via lithographically defined microfluidic channels, which paves the way for future high-performance soft pressure sensors.