Novel enhancement techniques for ultra-high-performance conformal wireless sensors and "smart skins" utilizing inkjet-printed graphene

We introduce various novel techniques for the performance enhancement of nanotechnology-enabled wireless platforms utilizing inkjet-printed graphene thin films, especially for gas sensing applications in this paper. Compared to previously reported results (6% sensitivity after exposure to 500 ppm NH₃), we have improved the performance by nearly a factor of 10, increasing the sensitivity to 4.8% at 60 ppm. Key advancements to the reduced graphene oxide (rGO) thin film include: (i) drastically reduced (micron to nm) film thickness via surface modification techniques, specifically enhancing charge transport properties, and (ii) increased porosity obtained via a unique in-house developed nano-patterning process. The proposed graphene-based thin film approach could set the foundation for a plethora of novel wireless sensing and gas-reconfigurable communication platforms.