A novel method is described for fabricating an all‐solid‐state flexible micro‐supercapacitor. The microelectrodes of the supercapacitor are prepared by in situ electrodeposition of polyaniline (PANI) nanorods on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) patterns that are fabricated by micromolding in capillaries. The morphologies of PANI nanorods could be controlled by the concentration of aniline and the growth time in the electrodeposition process. The micro‐supercapacitor possesses electrochemical capacitance as high as 970 F g−1 at a discharge current density of 2.5 A g−1, as well as good stability, retaining 90% of its initial capacitance after 1700 consecutive cycles for the synergistic effect of these new rGO/PANI nanostructures. The results show that the method could represent a route for translating the interesting fundamental properties of rGO and conducting polymers into technologically viable energy devices. Furthermore, this study might further guide the preparation of functional graphene‐based materials.
We report a generally applicable method to pattern organic molecules on mesoscopic scales. In our method, organic molecular beam deposition was conducted on substrate surfaces prepatterned with materials to which the organic molecules have larger binding energies in comparison to the substrate. Fully uniform nucleation control at these predefined locations can be achieved by an appropriate selection of the growth parameters including temperature and deposition rate. The physical mechanisms involved are studied by Monte Carlo simulations and stand in good agreement with the experimental findings.
Electronic skins (e-skins) that mimic the thermosensation and mechanosensation functionalities of natural skin are highly desired for the emerging fields of prosthetics and robotics. Advances in the materials and architecture of e-skins have been made; nevertheless, sensing mechanism innovations are rarely explored. Here, inspired by the skin sensory behaviors, a single potentiometric sensing scheme for both thermosensation and mechanosensation functionalities are presented. Through careful materials selection, component optimization, and structure configuration, the coupling effect between thermosensation and mechanosensation can be significantly minimized. Such a potentiometric sensing scheme enables one to create a new class of energy-efficient e-skin with distinctive characteristics that are highly analogous to those of natural human skin. The e-skin reported here features ultralow power consumption (at nanowatt level), greatly simplified operation (only voltage output), ultrahigh sensitivity (non-contact sensing capability), all-solution-processing fabrication, and, more importantly, good capability for simultaneous monitoring/mapping of both thermal and mechanical stimulations. In addition to proposing a new sensory mechanism, integration of the dual-functional e-skin with a soft robotic gripper for object manipulation is demonstrated. The presented concise yet efficient sensing scheme for both thermosensation and mechanosensation opens up previously unexplored avenues for the future design of skin prosthetics, humanoid robotics, and wearable electronics.
Human skin perceives external mechanical stimuli by sensing the variation in the membrane potential of skin sensory cells. Many scientists have attempted to recreate skin functions and develop electronic skins (e-skins) based on active and passive sensing mechanisms. Inspired by the skin sensory behavior, we investigated materials and electronic devices that allow us to encode mechanical stimuli into potential differences measured between two electrodes, resulting in a potentiometric mechanotransduction mechanism. We present here a potentiometric mechanotransducer that is fabricated through an all-solution processing approach. This mechanotransducer shows ultralow-power consumption, highly tunable sensing behavior, and capability to detect both static and low-frequency dynamic mechanical stimuli. Furthermore, we developed two novel classes of sensing devices, including strain-insensitive sensors and single-electrode-mode e-skins, which are challenging to achieve using the existing methods. This mechanotransduction mechanism has broad impact on robotics, prosthetics, and health care by providing a much improved human-machine interface.
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