An ambient-stable and stretchable ionic skin with multimodal sensation

Ying, Binbin; Wu, Qun; Li, Jianyu

doi:10.1039/c9mh00715f

Cited by 107 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 64 publications

(66 reference statements)

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“…To meet the stringent requirements of flexible electronics and soft machines, ionic conductors are naturally desired to possess excellent mechanical properties—including ruggedness and self‐healing capability—and attributes such as optical transparency and high conductivity. Hydrogels containing mobile ions, which are stretchable, transparent, and conductive, are considered as promising candidates for ionic conductors, and have enabled many hydrogel‐based applications such as ionic skins, [ 11–13 ] soft actuators, [ 14 ] and energy harvesting devices. [ 15,16 ] These devices, however, often suffer from limitations inherent to hydrogels, which are unstable due to rapid evaporation of water in ambient conditions and do not adhere well to other materials.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

A Mechanically Robust and Versatile Liquid‐Free Ionic Conductive Elastomer

et al. 2021

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Soft ionic conductors, such as hydrogels and ionogels, have enabled stretchable and transparent ionotronics, but they suffer from key limitations inherent to the liquid components, which may leak and evaporate. Here, novel liquid‐free ionic conductive elastomers (ICE) that are copolymer networks hosting lithium cations and associated anions via lithium bonds and hydrogen bonds are demonstrated, such that they are intrinsically immune from leakage and evaporation. The ICEs show extraordinary mechanical versatility including excellent stretchability, high strength and toughness, self‐healing, quick self‐recovery, and 3D‐printability. More intriguingly, the ICEs can defeat the conflict of strength versus toughness—a compromise well recognized in mechanics and material science—and simultaneously overcome the conflict between ionic conductivity and mechanical properties, which is common for ionogels. Several liquid‐free ionotronics based on the ICE are further developed, including resistive force sensors, multifunctional ionic skins, and triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), which are not subject to limitations of previous gel‐based devices, such as leakage, evaporation, and weak hydrogel–elastomer interfaces. Also, the 3D printability of the ICEs is demonstrated by printing a series of structures with fine features. The findings offer promise for a variety of ionotronics requiring environmental stability and durability.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

A Mechanically Robust and Versatile Liquid‐Free Ionic Conductive Elastomer

et al. 2021

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“…This reflects that the i-TPU film is highly reliable against repeated strains which would be generated by human motion. [44][45][46] Eventually, it can be expected that the i-TPU based IGS can be a promising skin-like material, and possesses considerable potential for the realization of skinattachable electronics.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Scalable Superior Chemical Sensing Performance of Stretchable Ionotronic Skin via a π‐Hole Receptor Effect

et al. 2021

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Soft, skin-attachable sensing devices have enabled the perception of infinitesimal changes in the surroundings (i.e., pressure and temperature) for intelligent robots, medical diagnostics, and real-time health monitoring. [1,2] In artificial sensing platforms, additional functionalities for chemical and biological sensing are designed to incorporate and facilitate a high quality of life. [3,4] Because exposure to toxic chemicals leads to millions of deaths worldwide annually, the use of skin-attachable platforms for sensing toxic gases has attracted considerable attention. [5] For example, toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) gas molecules from automotive emissions are associated with respiratory mortality and morbidity, thus it must be monitored along with other toxic chemicals. [6,7] To realize the practical sensing of toxic gases via skin-attachable devices, the sensor should be designed with longterm stability (chemical, thermal, and mechanical robustness that enable reliable collection of sensing signals on the human Skin-attachable gas sensors provide a next-generation wearable platform for real-time protection of human health by monitoring environmental and physiological chemicals. However, the creation of skin-like wearable gas sensors, possessing high sensitivity, selectivity, stability, and scalability (4S) simultaneously, has been a big challenge. Here, an ionotronic gas-sensing sticker (IGS) is demonstrated, implemented with free-standing polymer electrolyte (ionic thermoplastic polyurethane, i-TPU) as a sensing channel and inkjet-printed stretchable carbon nanotube electrodes, which enables the IGS to exhibit high sensitivity, selectivity, stability (against mechanical stress, humidity, and temperature), and scalable fabrication, simultaneously. The IGS demonstrates reliable sensing capability against nitrogen dioxide molecules under not only harsh mechanical stress (cyclic bending with the radius of curvature of 1 mm and cyclic straining at 50%), but also environmental conditions (thermal aging from −45 to 125 °C for 1000 cycles and humidity aging for 24 h at 85% relative humidity). Further, through systematic experiments and theoretical calculations, a π-hole receptor mechanism is proposed, which can effectively elucidate the origin of the high sensitivity (up to parts per billion level) and selectivity of the ionotronic sensing system. Consequently, this work provides a guideline for the design of ionotronic materials for the achievement of highperformance and skin-attachable gas-sensor platforms.

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“…[ 335,336 ] Diode‐like electrical characteristics of ionically conductive hydrogel adhesives have also been explored to sense force, strain, and humidity, mimicking the sensation of skin. [ 337 ] Conductive hydrogel adhesive sensors have also been demonstrated to monitor dynamic motions of organs wirelessly in real time. [ 338 ] Such abilities enable the possibility to monitor wound healing progress without repetitive invasive procedures for internal organs.…”

Section: Emerging Applications Of Tissue Adhesivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multifaceted Design and Emerging Applications of Tissue Adhesives

2021

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Tissue adhesives can form appreciable adhesion with tissues and have found clinical use in a variety of medical settings such as wound closure, surgical sealants, regenerative medicine, and device attachment. The advantages of tissue adhesives include ease of implementation, rapid application, mitigation of tissue damage, and compatibility with minimally invasive procedures. The field of tissue adhesives is rapidly evolving, leading to tissue adhesives with superior mechanical properties and advanced functionality. Such adhesives enable new applications ranging from mobile health to cancer treatment. To provide guidelines for the rational design of tissue adhesives, here, existing strategies for tissue adhesives are synthesized into a multifaceted design, which comprises three design elements: the tissue, the adhesive surface, and the adhesive matrix. The mechanical, chemical, and biological considerations associated with each design element are reviewed. Throughout the report, the limitations of existing tissue adhesives and immediate opportunities for improvement are discussed. The recent progress of tissue adhesives in topical and implantable applications is highlighted, and then future directions toward next‐generation tissue adhesives are outlined. The development of tissue adhesives will fuse disciplines and make broad impacts in engineering and medicine.

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An ambient-stable and stretchable ionic skin with multimodal sensation

Abstract: A diode-like artificial ionic skin for strain and humidity sensing with controlled ion mobility, high toughness, stretchability, ambient stability and transparency.

Cited by 107 publications

References 64 publications

A Mechanically Robust and Versatile Liquid‐Free Ionic Conductive Elastomer

A Mechanically Robust and Versatile Liquid‐Free Ionic Conductive Elastomer

Scalable Superior Chemical Sensing Performance of Stretchable Ionotronic Skin via a π‐Hole Receptor Effect

Multifaceted Design and Emerging Applications of Tissue Adhesives

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