Mechanically robust and lightweight double-layer bacterial cellulose-CuNWs with photothermal conversion and piezoresistive sensing

Membrane-based material has demonstrated unique charm in thermal management and piezoresistive sensors due to its ultra-thin structure and lightweight characteristics, making it a promising candidate for electronic devices. Copper nanowires (CuNWs) have attracted the attention of numerous researchers and are the primary choice to replace silver nanowires due to their low cost and excellent conductivity. Herein, CuNWs are synthesized using a facile, all-solution-based method and combined with high-strength, biocompatible bacterial cellulose (BC) to form a low-resistivity (0.0048 Ω·cm −1 ) and high photothermal conversion (45 °C under 150 mW·cm −2 irradiation) performance membrane (BC/CuNWs4), which modeled a double-layer network structure, namely the BC layer that protected CuNWs from oxidation and provided excellent mechanical support, and the CuNWs layer of the conductive network. The piezoresistive sensor (s-BC/CuNWs) with a wide detection range (8.02–122.06 kPa) and considerable sensitivity (49.95 kPa −1 ) can quickly respond (2.8 s) to external stress. Moreover, it demonstrated excellent piezoresistive sensing performance in real-time human health monitoring, including fingers, wrists, elbows, and legs.