A breathable, biodegradable, antibacterial, and self-powered electronic skin based on all-nanofiber triboelectric nanogenerators

• Published in: Science advances Vol. 6; no. 26; p. eaba9624
• Main Authors: Peng, Xiao, Dong, Kai, Ye, Cuiying, Jiang, Yang, Zhai, Siyuan, Cheng, Renwei, Liu, Di, Gao, Xiaoping, Wang, Jie, Wang, Zhong Lin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Association for the Advancement of Science 01.06.2020
• Subjects: Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Humans; Materials Science; Nanofibers; Nanowires - chemistry; Polyvinyl Alcohol - chemistry; SciAdv r-articles; Silver - chemistry; Wearable Electronic Devices
• ISSN: 2375-2548; 2375-2548
• DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aba9624

A breathable, biodegradable, antibacterial, and self-powered skin is developed. Mimicking the comprehensive functions of human sensing via electronic skins (e-skins) is highly interesting for the development of human-machine interactions and artificial intelligences. Some e-skins with high sensitivity and stability were developed; however, little attention is paid to their comfortability, environmental friendliness, and antibacterial activity. Here, we report a breathable, biodegradable, and antibacterial e-skin based on all-nanofiber triboelectric nanogenerators, which is fabricated by sandwiching silver nanowire (Ag NW) between polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). With micro-to-nano hierarchical porous structure, the e-skin has high specific surface area for contact electrification and numerous capillary channels for thermal-moisture transfer. Through adjusting the concentration of Ag NW and the selection of PVA and PLGA, the antibacterial and biodegradable capability of e-skins can be tuned, respectively. Our e-skin can achieve real-time and self-powered monitoring of whole-body physiological signal and joint movement. This work provides a previously unexplored strategy for multifunctional e-skins with excellent practicability.