Paper-supported WS2 strain gauges

Environmentally friendly and low-cost sensors are needed for the next generation disposable electronics applications. Given its low-cost, availability and biodegradability, paper-based devices are a very promising. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of a tungsten disulphide (WS2) strain sensor on standard copy paper. The WS2 is deposited through direct abrasion of WS2 powder against the paper surface making the fabri-cation of the device low-tech and cost effective. The fabricated strain gauge devices present gauge factors up to similar to 70 for strains in the +/- 0.5% range. These values are similar to 9 times larger than that obtained on devices with the same geometry but using a graphite film instead a WS2 as a sensitive material. We demonstrate the potential of these WS2-on-paper strain gauges by integrating them directly on a paper cantilever to sense mass and forces. We show how this very simple device can detect sub-milligram masses. Moreover, we also demonstrate the capability of transducing motion in mechanical resonators by gluing a WS2-on-paper strain gauge on their surface. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. CC_BY_NC_ND_4.0