Content area
Abstract
Stretchable electronics find widespread uses in a variety of applications such as wearable electronics, on-skin electronics, soft robotics and bioelectronics. Stretchable electronic devices conventionally built with elastomeric thin films show a lack of permeability, which not only impedes wearing comfort and creates skin inflammation over long-term wearing but also limits the design form factors of device integration in the vertical direction. Here, we report a stretchable conductor that is fabricated by simply coating or printing liquid metal onto an electrospun elastomeric fibre mat. We call this stretchable conductor a liquid-metal fibre mat. Liquid metal hanging among the elastomeric fibres self-organizes into a laterally mesh-like and vertically buckled structure, which offers simultaneously high permeability, stretchability, conductivity and electrical stability. Furthermore, the liquid-metal fibre mat shows good biocompatibility and smart adaptiveness to omnidirectional stretching over 1,800% strain. We demonstrate the use of a liquid-metal fibre mat as a building block to realize highly permeable, multifunctional monolithic stretchable electronics.
Coating of liquid metals on electrospun elastomeric fibre mats leads to the realization of conducting buckled meshes that can be stretched up to 1,800% strain while preserving both stable electrical properties and permeability to air and moisture.
Details
; Xu, Qi 3 ; Zhuang Qiuna 2 ; Zhao, Xin 4
; Yang, Yuhe 4 ; Qiu Hua 5 ; Yang Zhilu 5 ; Wang, Cong 6 ; Yang, Chai 6 ; Zheng Zijian 2
1 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Laboratory for Advanced Interfacial Materials and Devices, Research Center for Smart Wearable Technology, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, Hong Kong SAR, China (GRID:grid.16890.36) (ISNI:0000 0004 1764 6123); South China University of Technology, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials & Devices, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fiber Laser Materials and Applied Techniques, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research and Development Center of Special Optical Fiber Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangzhou, China (GRID:grid.79703.3a) (ISNI:0000 0004 1764 3838)
2 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Laboratory for Advanced Interfacial Materials and Devices, Research Center for Smart Wearable Technology, Institute of Textiles and Clothing, Hong Kong SAR, China (GRID:grid.16890.36) (ISNI:0000 0004 1764 6123)
3 South China University of Technology, State Key Laboratory of Luminescent Materials & Devices, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Fiber Laser Materials and Applied Techniques, Guangdong Engineering Technology Research and Development Center of Special Optical Fiber Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Guangzhou, China (GRID:grid.79703.3a) (ISNI:0000 0004 1764 3838)
4 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong SAR, China (GRID:grid.16890.36) (ISNI:0000 0004 1764 6123)
5 Southwest Jiaotong University, Key Lab of Advanced Technology of Materials of Education Ministry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Chengdu, China (GRID:grid.263901.f) (ISNI:0000 0004 1791 7667)
6 The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Department of Applied Physics, Hong Kong SAR, China (GRID:grid.16890.36) (ISNI:0000 0004 1764 6123)