2023-05-08
In April, 2023, latest research findings from the College of Materials Science and Technology "A Robust and Adhesive Hydrogel Enables Interfacial Coupling for Continuous Temperature Monitoring” was published on Advanced Functional Materials (IF=19.924).
In April, 2023, latest research result from the College of Materials Science and Technology "A Robust and Adhesive Hydrogel Enables Interfacial Coupling for Continuous Temperature Monitoring” was published in the journal of Advanced Functional Materials (IF=19.924).
In recent years, the demand for wearable and portable electronics has been growing while continuous temperature monitoring by flexible hydrogel-based electronics has been achieving rapid advances, overcoming the drawbacks of rigid and unportable thermocouples. However, an open question is whether and how the thermosensitive hydrogel designing can prevent mechanical mismatching between devices and skin-tissues and reduces interfacial failure.
Herein, a versatile hydrogel-based thermistor epidermal sensor (HTES) paradigm is engineered consisting of thermosensitive and self-adhesive function layer (PEST) in tandem with a surface spraying Ag interdigital electrode. Leveraging the advantage of catechol chemistry inspired tannic acid-coated cellulose nanocrystals, the resultant PEST achieves the adhesion-cohesion equilibrium along with superior thermosensitivity. The assembled HTES thereby yields unprecedented features of superior thermosensitivity (TCR = 1.43% °C−1), exceptional mechanical integrity (hammering 200 cycles, current variation <9%), impressive interfacial compatibility (adhesion strength, 25 kPa), and environmental stability (thermosensation retention of 98% over 5 days). By in-situ microstructure observation, the unique geometrical synchronization of HTES with arbitrary curvilinear surfaces (e.g., sphere, cone, and saddle) stemming from elastic dissipation and discrete rupture of the adhesive fibrillar bridges is validated, affording competitive advantages than that of the state-of-the-art thermistor electronics for alleviating the interfacial deterioration, which dramatically inspires advanced HTES design strategies and paves the way for commercialization of attachable thermistor electronics.
the first author of the paper is Hao Sanwei, doctoral candidate from the College of Materials Science and Technology of BFU, and the corresponding author is associate professor Yang Jun. This work was financially supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2022BLRD13) and State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering (202212).
Paper link: https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202302840
