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Natural Plant Materials as Dielectric Layer for Highly Sensitive Flexible Electronic Skin
Author(s) -
Wan Yongbiao,
Qiu Zhiguang,
Huang Jun,
Yang Jingyi,
Wang Qi,
Lu Peng,
Yang Junlong,
Zhang Jianming,
Huang Siya,
Wu Zhigang,
Guo Chuan Fei
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201801657
Subject(s) - materials science , dielectric , capacitive sensing , electrode , electronic skin , pressing , layer (electronics) , optoelectronics , capacitance , porosity , natural materials , pressure sensor , composite material , nanotechnology , computer science , mechanical engineering , chemistry , polymer science , engineering , operating system
Nature has long offered human beings with useful materials. Herein, plant materials including flowers and leaves have been directly used as the dielectric material in flexible capacitive electronic skin (e‐skin), which simply consists of a dried flower petal or leaf sandwiched by two flexible electrodes. The plant material is a 3D cell wall network which plays like a compressible metamaterial that elastically collapses upon pressing plus some specific surface structures, and thus the device can sensitively respond to pressure. The device works over a broad‐pressure range from 0.6 Pa to 115 kPa with a maximum sensitivity of 1.54 kPa −1 , and shows high stability over 5000 cyclic pressings or bends. The natural‐material‐based e‐skin has been applied in touch sensing, motion monitoring, gas flow detection, and the spatial distribution of pressure. As the foam‐like structure is ubiquitous in plants, a general strategy for a green, cost‐effective, and scalable approach to make flexible e‐skins is offered here.