Laser-induced graphene (LIG) has aroused a wide range of research interests ranging from micro-nano energy devices to the Internet of Things (IoT). Nevertheless, the non-degradability of most-used synthetic polymer carbon sources poses a serious threat to the environment. In this work, ecofriendly chitosan-based derivatives, including carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), chitosan oligosaccharide, and chitosan hydrochloride, are successfully converted into LIGs for the first time via a convenient one-step CO₂ laser engraving at ambient air. The obtained LIGs are characterized by a three-dimensional hierarchical porous structure and exhibit good sheet conductivity. The consecutive carbonization and graphitization mechanism of target precursors induced by laser heat accumulation is also deeply discussed. Besides, based on a mechanically reliable LIG/CMCS composite film and tribo-negative acrylic/polyimide anti-layers, two contact-separation mode triboelectric nanogenerators are built and their power densities range from 1.44 to 2.48 mW cm^-2. These devices with long cycle life can be used for low-frequency mechanical energy harvesting and commercial capacitance charging, which could be potentially applied in the wireless sensor network nodes. Such a family of chitosan derivatives paves a new route for LIG synthesis and provides new ideas for ecofriendly LIG electronics.

Flexible strain sensors based on nanomaterials have sparked a lot of interest in the field of wearable smart electronics. Laser induced graphene (LIG) based sensors in particular stand out due to their straightforward fabrication procedure, three-dimensional porous structures, and exceptional electromechanical capabilities. Recent studies have focused on LIG composites, however, it is still difficult to achieve great sensitivity and excellent linearity in a wide linear working range. Herein, a strain sensor with high sensitivity and good linearity is prepared in this work, which was realized by carbonizing the polyimide film coated with HfSe₂ to obtain three-dimensional porous graphene nanosheets decorated with HfSe₂ (HfSe₂/LIG). After being transferred to the flexible substrate of Ecoflex, it exhibits high stretchability, hydrophobicity and robustness, and obtains excellent electromechanical properties. The HfSe₂/LIG strain sensor demonstrated high sensitivity (gauge factor, GF ≈ 46), a low detection limit (0.02%), good linearity (R² = 0.99) in a large working range (up to 30%), and a quick response time (0.20 s). Additionally, it exhibits good stability and consistent behavior across a large number of strain/release test cycles (>3000 cycles). With these benefits, the sensor can be used to monitor various limb movements (including finger, wrist and neck movements) and minute artery activity, and can generate reliable signals. Therefore, the HfSe₂/LIG-based sensor has enormous potential for use in wearable intelligent electronics and movement monitoring.

In this work, the adsorption of toxic gaseous NO₂ and other gas molecules (NO, CO, CO₂, N₂, O₂, SO₂) on pristine and X-doped (X = Si, P, S, Te, As) two-dimensional (2D) WSe₂ have been detailed studied by performing density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Calculation results of adsorption energies and adsorption distances demonstrate that As-doped 2D WSe₂ (As-WSe₂) exhibits high selectivity not only towards NO₂, but also towards NO and SO₂. However, the charge transfer between NO and the substrate is too small to detect, and chemical bond forms between SO₂ and the substrate; both phenomena make As-WSe₂ substrate more suitable as a substrate material of the NO₂ sensor. To eliminate the interference of SO₂ on the adsorption of NO₂, coexistence of NO₂ and SO₂ is simulated. Results reveal that although the interaction between SO₂ and the As-WSe₂ substrate is stronger than that between NO₂ and the substrate, SO₂ molecule hardly interacts with the substrate when co-adsorbed with NO₂. Besides, calculation results of DOS and PDOS further confirm the sensitivity of As-WSe₂ towards NO₂; and those of the recovery time also highlight the extremely fast recovery rate of As-WSe₂ after adsorbing NO₂. The present findings make As-WSe₂ monolayer a potential substrate material of NO₂ gas sensors used in the atmospheric environment.