Skin-electrode iontronic interface for mechanosensing

Pang Zhu, Huifeng Du, Xingyu Hou, Peng Lu, Liu Wang, Jun Huang, Ningning Bai, Zhigang Wu, Nicholas X. Fang () and Chuan Fei Guo ()
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Pang Zhu: Southern University of Science and Technology
Huifeng Du: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Xingyu Hou: Southern University of Science and Technology
Peng Lu: Southern University of Science and Technology
Liu Wang: Southern University of Science and Technology
Jun Huang: Southern University of Science and Technology
Ningning Bai: Southern University of Science and Technology
Zhigang Wu: Southern University of Science and Technology
Nicholas X. Fang: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Chuan Fei Guo: Southern University of Science and Technology

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Electrodermal devices that capture the physiological response of skin are crucial for monitoring vital signals, but they often require convoluted layered designs with either electronic or ionic active materials relying on complicated synthesis procedures, encapsulation, and packaging techniques. Here, we report that the ionic transport in living systems can provide a simple mode of iontronic sensing and bypass the need of artificial ionic materials. A simple skin-electrode mechanosensing structure (SEMS) is constructed, exhibiting high pressure-resolution and spatial-resolution, being capable of feeling touch and detecting weak physiological signals such as fingertip pulse under different skin humidity. Our mechanical analysis reveals the critical role of instability in high-aspect-ratio microstructures on sensing. We further demonstrate pressure mapping with millimeter-spatial-resolution using a fully textile SEMS-based glove. The simplicity and reliability of SEMS hold great promise of diverse healthcare applications, such as pulse detection and recovering the sensory capability in patients with tactile dysfunction.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24946-4

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