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Cryo‐Transferred Ultrathin and Stretchable Epidermal Electrodes
Author(s) -
Fang Yunsheng,
Li Yue,
Wang Xin,
Zhou Zhengui,
Zhang Kui,
Zhou Jun,
Hu Bin
Publication year - 2020
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.202000450
Subject(s) - materials science , elastomer , electrode , composite material , bending , polymer , modulus , nanotechnology , transmittance , optoelectronics , chemistry
A simple cryo‐transfer method to fabricate ultrathin, stretchable, and conformal epidermal electrodes based on a combination of silver nanowires (AgNWs) network and elastomeric polymers is developed. This method can temporarily enable the soft elastomers with much higher elastic modulus and dimensional contraction through exploiting their glass‐transition behaviors. During this process, a much higher Von Mises stress can be loaded on AgNWs than usual, and the generated strong grip force can facilitate the complete transfer of AgNWs. Afterward, the thawed AgNWs and elastomer composites quickly recover to their soft state at room temperature. The obtained ultrathin and soft electrode with a thickness of 8.4 µm and transmittance of 90.8% at a sheet resistance of 13.2 Ω sq −1 can tolerate a stretching strain of 70% and 50 000 repeated bending cycles, which meets rigorous requirements of epidermal applications. The as‐prepared epidermal electrodes are effective and comfortable for electrophysiological signal monitoring, and while showing excellent performance exceeding the commercialized gel electrodes.