Highly conductive, stretchable, and breathable epidermal electrode based on hierarchically interactive nano-network.

Nanoscale

CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Beijing Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Energy and Sensor, Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, China. and School of Nanoscience and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China and New Materials Institute, Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Nottingham Ningbo China, Ningbo 315100, China.

Published: August 2020

Stretchable electrodes have a crucial impact on the development of flexible electronic systems. Most conventionally blended nanocomposite electrodes are incapable of achieving high stretchability, breathability, or durability. In this work, a highly conductive, breathable, and stretchable epidermal electrode (SEE) is demonstrated by designing a hierarchically interactive nano-network that is composed of elastic polymer nano-fibers and multi-level silver nano-wires (AgNWs). The elastic polymer nano-fibers act as a continuous scaffold, and multi-level AgNWs embedded in the nano-fibers form branched conductive pathways. This structure enables high conductivity of the SEE at 4800 S cm-1 (at a significantly low AgNW content of 1.59 vt%), with high stretchability and excellent durability. For example, the SEE remained conductive even at a high strain of 500%, and it also maintained its initial resistance even after 30 000 cycles of strain at 50% or being washed with water for 100 000 cycles. The SEE was prepared by a facile in situ nonequilibrium fabrication process, and can easily be produced into an elastic circuit on a large scale, which provides a foundation for integrated and multifunctional electronic skins. The SEE possesses superior mechanical conformability and permeability of gas and liquid, and therefore, it was successfully applied in measuring electrocardiogram signals and thermal therapy, and exhibited highly robust and comfortable performances even while being washed with water or undergoing complex deformations.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d0nr03189eDOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

highly conductive
8
epidermal electrode
8
hierarchically interactive
8
interactive nano-network
8
high stretchability
8
elastic polymer
8
polymer nano-fibers
8
washed water
8
conductive stretchable
4
stretchable breathable
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!