An integrated self-healable electronic skin system fabricated via dynamic reconstruction of a nanostructured conducting network

Abstract

Electronic skin devices capable of monitoring physiological signals and displaying feedback information through closed-loop communication between the user and electronics are being considered for next-generation wearables and the 'Internet of Things'. Such devices need to be ultrathin to achieve seamless and conformal contact with the human body, to accommodate strains from repeated movement and to be comfortable to wear. Recently, self-healing chemistry has driven important advances in deformable and reconfigurable electronics, particularly with self-healable electrodes as the key enabler. Unlike polymer substrates with self-healable dynamic nature, the disrupted conducting network is unable to recover its stretchability after damage. Here, we report the observation of self-reconstruction of conducting nanostructures when in contact with a dynamically crosslinked polymer network. This, combined with the self-bonding property of self-healing polymer, allowed subsequent heterogeneous multi-component device integration of interconnects, sensors and light-emitting devices into a single multi-functional system. This first autonomous self-healable and stretchable multi-component electronic skin paves the way for future robust electronics.

Flourishing Self‐Healing Surface Materials: Recent Progresses and Challenges

“…Nowadays, it is a great interest to focus on energy conversion devices with long lifespan and high efficiencies, such as batteries, solar cells, nanogenerators, and other energy conversion devices ( Figure a–c). Nevertheless, in a practice environment, the stability and power transfer efficiency possibly decrease because these devices are susceptible to the defects and surface damages upon the harsh environment. For example, the occurrence of microcracks and scratches on the surface of solar cells not only reduce the power conversion efficiency but also cause safety concerns .…”

Interfaceless Strain and Pressure‐Sensitive Stretchable Capacitor Based on Self‐Bonding and Surface Morphology Control of a Reversibly Crosslinkable Silicone Elastomer

“…Stretchable strain and pressure sensors, which can provide significant information about the specific demands inside the human body and in the processes where humans contact with their external environment, [1][2][3][4][5] have gained significant interest recently because of their versatile applications in robotic systems, [6] electronic skin, [7] prosthetics, [8] and wearable medical devices. [9,10] To date, various sensing mechanisms have been reported to achieve strain and pressure sensitivity using piezoelectric, [11][12][13] piezoresistive, [14,15] triboelectric, [16,17] and piezocapacitive materials.…”

Pinene‐Functionalized Polysiloxane as an Excellent Self‐Healing Superhydrophobic Polymer

“…In addition to developing self‐healing polymers with new chemistry and/or better performance, endowing such materials with special functionality is also important and necessary. Therefore, many functionalized self‐healable materials, such as self‐healing electronics, adhesives, shape memory polymers, and superhydrophobic coatings have been reported. Among these multifunctional materials, superhydrophobic coatings are particularly attractive because of their universalities in various industrial fields.…”