Issue 4, 2019

3D printing of ionic conductors for high-sensitivity wearable sensors

Abstract

Transparent conductors with high stretchability are highly desirable for wearable sensors and electronics. However, the existing applications of sensors involving electronic conductors are limited by the significant resistance increase upon deformation and the laborious device fabrication. Herein, we constructed ionically conductive hydrogels using a photopolymerization-based 3D printing technique, and then developed transparent, highly stretchable, and elastic hydrogels into capacitive sensors, enabling sensing of both pressure and strain. The 3D printing of ionic conductors provides an effective and flexible way to manufacture microstructure electrodes, thus greatly simplifying the device fabrication process, and in the meantime endowing the device with high sensitivity and low detection limit. Its superior capabilities are demonstrated by high-fidelity body signal acquisition over multiple skin locations. In addition to providing an approach for preparing high-precision ionic conductors with microstructures, this work also paves the way for the development of a new class of smart electronics and artificial intelligence.

Graphical abstract: 3D printing of ionic conductors for high-sensitivity wearable sensors

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
04 Du 2018
Accepted
15 Gen. 2019
First published
15 Gen. 2019

Mater. Horiz., 2019,6, 767-780

3D printing of ionic conductors for high-sensitivity wearable sensors

X. Yin, Y. Zhang, X. Cai, Q. Guo, J. Yang and Z. L. Wang, Mater. Horiz., 2019, 6, 767 DOI: 10.1039/C8MH01398E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements