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Nanofiber‐Reinforced Silver Nanowires Network as a Robust, Ultrathin, and Conformable Epidermal Electrode for Ambulatory Monitoring of Physiological Signals
Author(s) -
Liu Lu,
Li Hua Yang,
Fan You Jun,
Chen Yang Hui,
Kuang Shuang Yang,
Li Ze Bin,
Wang Zhong Lin,
Zhu Guang
Publication year - 2019
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.201900755
Subject(s) - conformable matrix , materials science , electrode , nanofiber , contact resistance , nanowire , composite material , deformation (meteorology) , optoelectronics , bending , nanotechnology , biomedical engineering , medicine , chemistry , layer (electronics)
Extremely soft and thin electrodes with high skin conformability have potential applications in wearable devices for personal healthcare. Here, a submicrometer thick, highly robust, and conformable nanonetwork epidermal electrode (NEE) is reported. Electrospinning of polyamide nanofibers and electrospraying of silver nanowires are simultaneously performed to form a homogeneously convoluted network in a nonwoven way. For a 125 nm thick NEE, a low sheet resistance of ≈4 Ω sq −1 with an optical transmittance of ≈82% is achieved. Due to the nanofiber‐based scaffold that undertakes most of the stress during deformation, the electric resistance of the NEE shows very little variation; less than 1.2% after 50 000 bending cycles. The NEE can form a fully conformal contact to human skin without additional adhesives, and the NEE shows a contact impedance that is over 50% lower than what is found in commercial gel electrodes. Due to conformal contact even under deformation, the NEE proves to be a stable, robust, and comfortable approach for measuring electrocardiogram signals, especially when a subject is in motion. These features make the NEE promising for use in the ambulatory measurement of physiological signals for healthcare applications.