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A Gel‐Free Ti 3 C 2 T x ‐Based Electrode Array for High‐Density, High‐Resolution Surface Electromyography
Author(s) -
Murphy Brendan B.,
Mulcahey Patrick J.,
Driscoll Nicolette,
Richardson Andrew G.,
Robbins Gregory T.,
Apollo Nicholas V.,
Maleski Kathleen,
Lucas Timothy H.,
Gogotsi Yury,
Dillingham Timothy,
Vitale Flavia
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
advanced materials technologies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.184
H-Index - 42
ISSN - 2365-709X
DOI - 10.1002/admt.202000325
Subject(s) - materials science , electrode , parylene , nanotechnology , optoelectronics , conformable matrix , electrical conductor , fabrication , composite material , polymer , medicine , chemistry , alternative medicine , pathology
Wearable sensors for surface electromyography (EMG) are composed of single‐ to few‐channel large‐area contacts, which exhibit high interfacial impedance and require conductive gels or adhesives to record high‐fidelity signals. These devices are also limited in their ability to record activation across large muscle groups due to poor spatial coverage. To address these challenges, a novel high‐density EMG array is developed based on titanium carbide (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) MXene encapsulated in parylene‐C. Ti 3 C 2 T x is a 2D nanomaterial with excellent electrical, electrochemical, and mechanical properties, which forms colloidally stable aqueous dispersions, enabling safe, scalable solutions‐processing. Leveraging the excellent combination of metallic conductivity, high pseudocapacitance, and ease of processability of Ti 3 C 2 T x MXene, the fabrication of gel‐free, high‐density EMG arrays is demonstrated, which are ≈8 µm thick, feature 16 recording channels, and are highly skin conformable. The impedance of Ti 3 C 2 T x electrodes in contact with human skin is 100–1000× lower than the impedance of commercially available electrodes which require conductive gels to be effective. Furthermore, the arrays can record high‐fidelity, low‐noise EMG, and can resolve muscle activation with improved spatiotemporal resolution and sensitivity compared to conventional gelled electrodes. Overall, the results establish Ti 3 C 2 T x ‐based bioelectronic interfaces as a powerful platform technology for high‐resolution, noninvasive wearable sensing technologies.