On-skin ultrathin and stretchable multifunctional sensor for smart healthcare wearables

• Published in: Npj flexible electronics Vol. 6; no. 1; pp. 1 - 12
• Main Authors: Zhang, Shipeng, Chhetry, Ashok, Zahed, Md. Abu, Sharma, Sudeep, Park, Chani, Yoon, Sanghyuk, Park, Jae Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 08.02.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/301/1005; 639/925/927/511; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrocardiography; Electronics and Microelectronics; Electrophoretic deposition; Ethylene; Graphene; Health care; Indicators; Instrumentation; Materials Science; Optical and Electronic Materials; Physiology; Polymer Sciences; Polystyrene resins; Sensors; Skin; Substrates; Telemedicine
• ISSN: 2397-4621; 2397-4621
• DOI: 10.1038/s41528-022-00140-4

The flexible and stretchable multifunctional sensors for the precise monitoring of the human physiological health indicators is an emerging requirement of next-generation electronics. However, the integration of multifunctional sensors into a common substrate for simultaneous detection of such signals without interfering with each other is the most challenging work. Here, we propose MXene-Ti 3 C 2 T x and 3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene (EDOT) deposited on laser-induced graphene (LIG/MXene-Ti 3 C 2 T x @EDOT) composite-based flexible and stretchable multifunctional sensors for strain, temperature, and electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring. In-situ electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of MXene-Ti 3 C 2 T x @EDOT composite into LIG outperforms high strain sensitivity of 2,075, temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of 0.86%, and low skin-contact impedance. The sensor platform is integrated into an ultrathin and highly resilient polystyrene- block -poly(ethylene- ran -butylene)- block -polystyrene (SEBS). Finally, we demonstrate on-site detection of human body-induced deformations and physiological health indicators, such as temperature and ECG. The proposed approach paves a promising route to future wearables for smart skin and healthcare applications.