Stretchable and self-healing electronic skin based on a piezoelectric/triboelectric polyester elastomer for deep and superficial sensation

Abstract

Fully emulating the function of human skin through electronic skin depends on the simultaneous realization of both superficial and deep sensations. However, the majority of current research on electronic skin is limited to tactile-based bionics, focusing only on superficial sensation. In this study, a stretchable and self-healing elastomer based on 2,3-BDO (BBPE) is fabricated as electronic skin through molecular structure design with abundant dipoles and restricted crystallinity in the linear backbone. By realizing the piezoelectric and triboelectric output, our electronic skin (PBES) is capable of detecting various contact and contactless signals to realize not only superficial sensations of touch and stretch but also deep sensations of position and state. Furthermore, the PBES exhibits human-skin-like properties with elastic elongation higher than 300% even after 100 cycles and self-healing properties with a recovery of 77.34% of its electrical performance at 37 °C within 10 minutes. Moreover, the utilization of bio-based monomers ensures its biocompatibility and hydrophobicity similar to human skin. Considering its great potential in electronic bionics and human–computer interaction fields, PBES holds immense promise for future development.