Cellulose-based Eco-Friendly Temperature Sensor

Precise temperature monitoring is essential for a wide range of applications including agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, and soft robotic systems. Temperature sensors also play a key role in the calibration of other sensing devices that are temperature sensitive. As the demand for such sensors increases, concerns about their end-of-life disposal, the resulting electronic waste, and the associated environmental impact are becoming more prominent. To address this, we present a fully eco-friendly, cellulose-based resistive temperature sensor. The sensor consists of conductive graphene-based interdigitated electrodes fabricated using a laser-induced graphene (LIG) technique on cellulose acetate. LIG enables synthesis, solvent-free deposition, and low-energy patterning in a single step, offering a sustainable route for device fabrication. Further, we have utilized machine-learning approaches to optimize the lasing parameters and achieve the optimal electrical performance faster with minimal experimental trials. The sensing layer consists of a hydroxypropyl cellulose/choline chloride (ChCl) composite, whose conductivity varies with temperature, enabling reliable and sensitive detection. ... mehrThe use of bio-derived materials ensures material circularity, reduced environmental burden, and compatibility with end-of-life degradation pathways. Additionally, a flexible temperature-sensor array will be demonstrated to map spatial temperature distributions, highlighting the potential of the device for scalable and transient green electronics.