am9b23400_si_001.pdf (381.33 kB)
Highly Air/Water-Permeable Hierarchical Mesh Architectures for Stretchable Underwater Electronic Skin Patches
journal contribution
posted on 2020-03-13, 20:03 authored by Hyeongho Min, Siyeon Jang, Da Wan Kim, Jiwon Kim, Sangyul Baik, Sungwoo Chun, Changhyun PangThe
development of an electronic skin patch that can be used in
underwater environments can be considered essential for fabricating
long-term wearable devices and biomedical applications. Herein, we
report a stretchable conductive polymer composite (CPC) patch on which
an octopus sucker-inspired structure is formed to conformally contact
with biological skin that may be rough and wet. The patch is patterned
with a hexagonal mesh structure for water and air permeability. The
patch films are suited for a strain sensor or a stretchable electrode
as their piezoresistive responses can be controlled by changing the
concentration of conductive fillers to polymeric polyurethane. The
CPC patch with a hexagonal mesh pattern (HMP) can be easily stretched
for a strain sensor and is insensitive to tensile strain, making the
patch suitable as a stretchable electrode. Furthermore, the octopus-like
structures formed on the skeleton of the HMP allow the patch to maintain
strong adhesion underwater by easily draining excess water trapped
between the patch and skin. The sensor patch (<50 wt % carbon nanotubes
(CNTs)) can sensitively detect the bending strain of a finger, and
the electrode patch (50 wt % CNTs with addition of Ag flakes) can
stably measure biosignals (e.g., electrocardiogram signals) under
both dry and wet conditions owing to the octopus-like structure and
HMP.