Advanced Nanomaterials for Soft and Wearable Electronics

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanoelectronics, Nanosensors and Devices".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2024 | Viewed by 10594

Special Issue Editors

Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Yunlin, Taiwan
Interests: stretchable electronics; organic electronics; nanomaterials
Department of Chemical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Interests: nanoelectronics; soft electronics; biomedical devices; bioelectronics
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Interests: stretchable semiconductors; organic electronics; polymers; nanomaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Skin-inspired electronics are promising technologies for the next generation of wearable devices and biomedical systems. Efforts have been made in a wide variety of applications, such as personalized healthcare monitoring, portable Internet of Things, and human-machine interfaces based on soft electronics. The past decade has witnessed their revolution, from flexible to stretchable, through the implementation of soft and electrically conductive nanomaterials. New nanomaterials and processing technologies could contribute significantly to the design and implementation of stretchable conductors and semiconductors, which are essential for stretchable sensors, transistors, multiplexed arrays, integrated circuits and systems.

This Special Issue titled “Advanced Nanomaterials for Soft and Wearable Electronics” in the journal Nanomaterials will attempt to cover the most recent advances in stretchable and conductive nanomaterials, concerning not only their molecular design, synthesis and characterization, but especially their processability and compatibility to be applied in soft and wearable electronics. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome, as are comments and perspectives. The scope covers all relevant topics, including:

  • Advanced nanomaterials for the application of stretchable transistors, diodes, memories and displays.
  • Advanced nanomaterials for stretchable energy generation, harvest and storage applications, triboelectric nanogenerators, wireless power transmission, solar cells, supercapacitors and batteries.
  • Advanced nanomaterials for on-skin sensors, including pressure sensors, strain sensors, temperature sensors, light sensors, gas sensors, chemical sensors and bioelectrodes.
  • Advanced nanomaterials for implantable medical devices, human-machine interfaces, haptics, prosthesis, smart drug delivery, and health care systems.

Dr. Chien-Chung Shih
Dr. Donglai Zhong
Dr. Deyu Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nanomaterials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nanomaterials
  • stretchable materials
  • polymeric materials
  • 1D materials
  • 2D materials
  • wearable electronics
  • transistors
  • sensors
  • bioelectronics

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

10 pages, 2255 KiB  
Article
Facile Transfer of Spray-Coated Ultrathin AgNWs Composite onto the Skin for Electrophysiological Sensors
by Minwoo Lee, Jaeseong Kim, Myat Thet Khine, Sunkook Kim and Srinivas Gandla
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(17), 2467; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13172467 - 31 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 891
Abstract
Disposable wearable sensors that ultrathin and conformable to the skin are of significant interest as affordable and easy-to-use devices for short-term recording. This study presents a facile and low-cost method for transferring spray-coated silver nanowire (AgNW) composite films onto human skin using glossy [...] Read more.
Disposable wearable sensors that ultrathin and conformable to the skin are of significant interest as affordable and easy-to-use devices for short-term recording. This study presents a facile and low-cost method for transferring spray-coated silver nanowire (AgNW) composite films onto human skin using glossy paper (GP) and liquid bandages (LB). Due to the moderately hydrophobic and rough surface of the GP, the ultrathin AgNWs composite film (~200 nm) was easily transferred onto human skin. The AgNW composite films conformally attached to the skin when applied with a LB, resulting in the stable and continuous recording of wearable electrophysiological signals, including electromyogram (EMG), electrocardiogram (ECG), and electrooculogram (EOG). The volatile LB, deposited on the skin via spray coating, promoted rapid adhesion of the transferred AgNW composite films, ensuring stability to the AgNWs in external environments. The AgNWs composite supported with the LB film exhibited high water vapor breathability (~28 gm−2h−1), which can avoid the accumulation of sweat at the skin–sensor interface. This approach facilitates the creation of rapid, low-cost, and disposable tattoo-like sensors that are practical for extended use. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanomaterials for Soft and Wearable Electronics)
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18 pages, 3620 KiB  
Article
Electric Resistance of Elastic Strain Sensors—Fundamental Mechanisms and Experimental Validation
by Muchao Qu, Zixin Xie, Shuiyan Liu, Jinzhu Zhang, Siyao Peng, Zhitong Li, Cheng Lin and Fritjof Nilsson
Nanomaterials 2023, 13(12), 1813; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13121813 - 06 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 972
Abstract
Elastic strain sensor nanocomposites are emerging materials of high scientific and commercial interest. This study analyzes the major factors influencing the electrical behavior of elastic strain sensor nanocomposites. The sensor mechanisms were described for nanocomposites with conductive nanofillers, either dispersed inside the polymer [...] Read more.
Elastic strain sensor nanocomposites are emerging materials of high scientific and commercial interest. This study analyzes the major factors influencing the electrical behavior of elastic strain sensor nanocomposites. The sensor mechanisms were described for nanocomposites with conductive nanofillers, either dispersed inside the polymer matrix or coated onto the polymer surface. The purely geometrical contributions to the change in resistance were also assessed. The theoretical predictions indicated that maximum Gauge values are achieved for mixture composites with filler fractions slightly above the electrical percolation threshold, especially for nanocomposites with a very rapid conductivity increase around the threshold. PDMS/CB and PDMS/CNT mixture nanocomposites with 0–5.5 vol.% fillers were therefore manufactured and analyzed with resistivity measurements. In agreement with the predictions, the PDMS/CB with 2.0 vol.% CB gave very high Gauge values of around 20,000. The findings in this study will thus facilitate the development of highly optimized conductive polymer composites for strain sensor applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanomaterials for Soft and Wearable Electronics)
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11 pages, 2292 KiB  
Article
Highly Compressible and Sensitive Flexible Piezoresistive Pressure Sensor Based on MWCNTs/Ti3C2Tx MXene @ Melamine Foam for Human Gesture Monitoring and Recognition
by Yue Su, Kainan Ma, Xurui Mao, Ming Liu and Xu Zhang
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(13), 2225; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12132225 - 29 Jun 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2204
Abstract
Flexible sensing devices provide a convenient and effective solution for real-time human motion monitoring, but achieving efficient and low-cost assembly of pressure sensors with high performance remains a considerable challenge. Herein, a highly compressible and sensitive flexible foam-shaped piezoresistive pressure sensor was prepared [...] Read more.
Flexible sensing devices provide a convenient and effective solution for real-time human motion monitoring, but achieving efficient and low-cost assembly of pressure sensors with high performance remains a considerable challenge. Herein, a highly compressible and sensitive flexible foam-shaped piezoresistive pressure sensor was prepared by sequential fixing multiwalled carbon nanotubes and Ti3C2Tx MXene on the skeleton of melamine foam. Due to the porous skeleton of the melamine foam and the extraordinary electrical properties of the conductive fillers, the obtained MWCNTs/Ti3C2Tx MXene @ melamine foam device features high sensitivity of 0.339 kPa1, a wide working range up to 180 kPa, a desirable response time and excellent cyclic stability. The sensing mechanism of the composite foam device is attributed to the change in the conductive pathways between adjacent porous skeletons. The proposed sensor can be used successfully to monitor human gestures in real-time, such as finger bending and tilting, scrolling the mouse and stretching fingers. By combining with the decision tree algorithm, the sensor can unambiguously classify different Arabic numeral gestures with an average recognition accuracy of 98.9%. Therefore, our fabricated foam-shaped sensor may have great potential as next-generation wearable electronics to accurately acquire and recognize human gesture signals in various practical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanomaterials for Soft and Wearable Electronics)
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11 pages, 7037 KiB  
Article
Trench FinFET Nanostructure with Advanced Ferroelectric Nanomaterial HfZrO2 for Sub-60-mV/Decade Subthreshold Slope for Low Power Application
by Siao-Cheng Yan, Chen-Han Wu, Chong-Jhe Sun, Yi-Wen Lin, Yi-Ju Yao and Yung-Chun Wu
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(13), 2165; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12132165 - 23 Jun 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3049
Abstract
Ferroelectric fin field-effect transistors with a trench structure (trench Fe-FinFETs) were fabricated and characterized. The inclusion of the trench structures improved the electrical characteristics of the Fe-FinFETs. Moreover, short channel effects were suppressed by completely surrounding the trench channel with the gate electrodes. [...] Read more.
Ferroelectric fin field-effect transistors with a trench structure (trench Fe-FinFETs) were fabricated and characterized. The inclusion of the trench structures improved the electrical characteristics of the Fe-FinFETs. Moreover, short channel effects were suppressed by completely surrounding the trench channel with the gate electrodes. Compared with a conventional Fe-FinFET, the fabricated trench Fe-FinFET had a higher on–off current ratio of 4.1 × 107 and a steep minimum subthreshold swing of 35.4 mV/dec in the forward sweep. In addition, the fabricated trench Fe-FinFET had a very low drain-induced barrier lowering value of 4.47 mV/V and immunity to gate-induced drain leakage. Finally, a technology computer-aided design simulation was conducted to verify the experimental results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanomaterials for Soft and Wearable Electronics)
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14 pages, 3138 KiB  
Article
Realizing Broadband NIR Photodetection and Ultrahigh Responsivity with Ternary Blend Organic Photodetector
by Yang-Yen Yu, Yan-Cheng Peng, Yu-Cheng Chiu, Song-Jhe Liu and Chih-Ping Chen
Nanomaterials 2022, 12(8), 1378; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12081378 - 18 Apr 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2726
Abstract
With the advancement of portable optoelectronics, organic semiconductors have been attracting attention for their use in the sensing of white and near-infrared light. Ideally, an organic photodiode (OPD) should simultaneously display high responsivity and a high response frequency. In this study we used [...] Read more.
With the advancement of portable optoelectronics, organic semiconductors have been attracting attention for their use in the sensing of white and near-infrared light. Ideally, an organic photodiode (OPD) should simultaneously display high responsivity and a high response frequency. In this study we used a ternary blend strategy to prepare PM6: BTP-eC9: PCBM–based OPDs with a broad bandwidth (350–950 nm), ultrahigh responsivity, and a high response frequency. We monitored the dark currents of the OPDs prepared at various PC71BM blend ratios and evaluated their blend film morphologies using optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering. Optimization of the morphology and energy level alignment of the blend films resulted in the OPD prepared with a PM6:BTP-eC9:PC71BM ternary blend weight ratio of 1:1.2:0.5 displaying an extremely low dark current (3.27 × 10−9 A cm−2) under reverse bias at −1 V, with an ultrahigh cut-off frequency (610 kHz, at 530 nm), high responsivity (0.59 A W–1, at −1.5 V), and high detectivity (1.10 × 1013 Jones, under a reverse bias of −1 V at 860 nm). Furthermore, the rise and fall times of this OPD were rapid (114 and 110 ns), respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Nanomaterials for Soft and Wearable Electronics)
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