All‐Fiber Structured Electronic Skin with High Elasticity and Breathability

Abstract

With the rapid advancement in artificial intelligence, wearable electronic skins have attracted substantial attention. However, the fabrication of such devices with high elasticity and breathability is still a challenge and highly desired. Here, a route to develop an all-fiber structured electronic skin with a scalable electrospinning fabrication technique is reported. The fabricated electronic skin is demonstrated to exhibit high pressure sensing with a sensitivity of 0.18 V kPa −1 in the detection range of 0-175 kPa. This wearable device could maintain prominent sensing performance and mechanical stability in the presence of large deformation, even when the elastic deformation is up to 50%. The electronic skin is easily conformable on different desired objects for real-time spatial mapping and long-term tactile sensing. Besides, it possesses high gas permeability with a water vapor transmittance rate of 10.26 kg m −2 d −1 . More importantly, the electronic skin is capable of working in a self-powered manner and even serves as a reliable power source to effectively drive small electronics. Possessing several compelling features, such as high sensitivity, high elasticity, high breathability as well as being self-powered and scalable in fabrication, the presented device paves a pathway for smart electronic skins.

Wearable and Stretchable Strain Sensors: Materials, Sensing Mechanisms, and Applications

“…[242] To overcome this, limited attempts have been made to develop breathable wearable devices utilizing 3D microarchitectures, structured fiber films, and porous polymers. [154,190,243] A recent study has shown significant suppression of the skin inflammation by designing nanomesh, ultrathin, and gas-permeable wearable devices. [244] Therefore, the research focus should move toward the development of wearable strain sensors using more biocompatible and clinically acceptable materials.…”

Emerging Developments in the Use of Electrospun Fibers and Membranes for Protective Clothing Applications

“…The schematic shown in Figure 6 illustrates the use of yarns for developing electronic fabrics. The cross-over points between the elastic composite yarns serve as capacitive Using similar approach, textiles for wearable electronic skin applications can be developed by incorporating pressure-sensitive materials into the fabric [33][34][35]. For such applications, functional polymers such as piezoelectric or conductive polymers are typically used and integrated into the fabrics [36][37][38].…”

Towards Truly Wearable Systems: Optimizing and Scaling Up Wearable Triboelectric Nanogenerators

“…Typically, such fabrications take place in the form of triboelectric modifications in yarn or fabric form. For instance, the fiber/yarn-based TENG fabrication methods include laboratory-scale electrospinning ( Li et al., 2020 ), wrapping or coiling with a motor ( Lou et al., 2020 ; Ye et al., 2020a ), twisting techniques ( Zhou et al., 2014a , 2014b ), etc. These yarns and fibers are typically embedded or converted into fabrics using sewing ( He et al., 2019 ; Lai et al., 2017 ), hand weaving ( Liu et al., 2019a , 2019b ; Zhang et al., 2016 ), shuttle weaving ( Chen et al., 2016 ), hand knitting ( Dong et al., 2017b ), pilot-scale nonwoven techniques ( Peng et al., 2019 ), and embroidery ( Sala de Medeiros et al., 2019 ) methods.…”