Highly stretchable metal-polymer hybrid conductors for wearable and self-cleaning sensors

Abstract

We fabricated semitransparent and stretchable hybrid Ag-polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) conductors on a polyurethane (PU) substrate for use in high-performance wearable and self-cleaning sensors. The highly conductive Ag metal and stretchable PTFE polymer matrix were cosputtered, embedding the self-formed Ag in the PTFE matrix. Depending on the cosputtering RF and DC power ratio, the Ag-PTFE conductors showed a sheet resistance of 3.09–17.23 Ω/square and an optical transparency of 25.27–38.49% at a wavelength of 550 nm. Under the optimal cosputtering conditions, the Ag-PTFE electrode showed outstanding stretchability (strain 20%) and reversible hysteresis, enabling the production of stretchable and semitransparent conductors. In addition, the very small critical inward/outward bending radius near 1 mm and the hydrophobic surface indicate that the Ag-PTFE films could also be applied in wearable and self-cleaning devices. The suitability of the high stretchability and low sheet resistance of the sputtered Ag-PTFE conductor was verified by using it as a stretchable interconnector for commercial ELs, LEDs, and strain sensors. We applied the Ag-PTFE film as a semitransparent conductor for stretchable touch panels and electromyography sensors. Cosputtered Ag-PTFE films are promising stretchable conductors for a variety of applications in next-generation wearable devices.

Human Skin-Inspired Electrospun Patterned Robust Strain-Insensitive Pressure Sensors and Wearable Flexible Light-Emitting Diodes

“…The Owen–Wendt method depending on contact angle measurements with two different solvents was used on substrates to attain the surface energy contributions (eq , Figure S2, and Table S4). where γ L = γ L p + γ L d , γ L = γ s p + γ s d , γ L is the surface tension of the test solvents, γ S is the surface energy of the solid, and superscripts p and d refer to the polar and dispersion components of the surface tension of the test liquid and the surface energy of the solid, respectively. Reduced surface energy enhances the silver precursor adsorption and alters the AgNP crystallization.…”

Liquid Metal‐Based Soft Electronics for Wearable Healthcare

“…Generally, probe sonication delivers stronger acoustic power to the solution, and this allows the more efficient production of liquid metal capsules than bath sonication. [ 97,108 ]…”

Highly flexible Ag nanowire network covered by a graphene oxide nanosheet for high-performance flexible electronics and anti-bacterial applications

“…A flexible and transparent conductive electrode (FTCE) is a thin film with high transparency, high conductivity, and outstanding flexibility [1][2][3]. Due to the rapid advancements in flexible electronics and wearable devices, FTCEs have gained a great deal of attention as a key component of flexible displays [4][5][6], flexible touch panels [7][8][9], flexible thin film heaters (TFHs) [10][11][12][13][14][15][16], photoelectric devices [17][18][19][20], and wearable electronics [21][22][23].…”