Robust flexible sensors for extreme environments: Material evolution, structural engineering, and interfacial strategies

Abstract

Flexible sensors are increasingly required in extreme environments, including deep-sea, polar, aerospace, high-temperature, and corrosive scenarios, where conventional soft devices suffer from thermodynamic degradation, chemical corrosion, mechanical damage, radiation aging, and interfacial delamination. This review establishes a system-level framework for designing robust flexible sensors beyond isolated material substitution. We first summarize the cross-scale failure mechanisms of soft materials under coupled thermal, mechanical, chemical, and radiation stresses, clarifying how molecular degradation and interface instability evolve into device-level failure. We then compare robust substrates, stabilized functional fillers, and structural or interfacial protection strategies for maintaining sensing reliability. Representative applications in polar exploration, deep-ocean monitoring, aerospace systems, firefighting, and industrial corrosion environments are further analyzed to distinguish laboratory demonstrations from deployable sensing systems. Finally, we highlight remaining challenges, including multi-field signal decoupling, long-term drift, robustness–sensitivity trade-offs, and the absence of standardized testing protocols. Future progress will depend on shifting from environmental survival to reliable signal fidelity through in-sensor computing, calibration strategies, and digital-twin-guided design.

Yingzhe Wang (王颖哲)

Assistant Professor

My research interests include microfluidics, bio-hybrid robotics and micro-robotics.