Air‐Permeable Textile Bioelectronics for Wearable Energy Harvesting and Active Sensing

Abstract

Advances in wearable bioelectronics enable the possibility of transforming the currently reactive and disease‐centric healthcare system to one focused on disease prevention and health promotion. Converting biomechanical activities into electrical signals could be a unique way to develop wearable bioelectronics for personalized healthcare. In this work, an air‐permeable textile (APT) bioelectronics is developed. It is formed with a liquid metal electrode treated with Nickel (Ni‐EGaIn) encapsulated between two layers of electrospun Polycaprolactone textile. With a size of 4 cm by 4 cm, the APT bioelectronics produces an open‐circuit voltage of 12 V and a short‐circuit current of 0.12 mA, ultimately outputting a power density of 7.975 W m−2. The APT bioelectronics demonstrates an ability to produce electrical output under varying degrees of deformation with stable performance over 6000 cycles. In addition, the APT bioelectronics holds a drying rate of 5.07% min−1 compared to conventional fabrics such as polyester with a drying rate of 3.93% min−1. This keeps the ATP dry and cool for decent wearing comfort. With a collection of compelling features, the air‐permeable textile bioelectronics represents a promising approach for human body centered energy and sensing applications.

An All‐Stretchable, Ultraviolet Protective, and Electromagnetic‐Interference‐Free E‐Textile

“…The LM-based electrode was formed by combining LM with Ag flakes; the XRD pattern of AgLM reveals distinct characteristic peaks of AgIn 2 (PDF#25-0386) and Ga phases (Figure 2a), providing evidence for the successful combination of LM and silver flakes. The reactive alloying of LM and silver flakes can greatly reduce the surface tension of EGaIn; [14] the obtained AgLM had significantly improved viscosity (Figure S1, Supporting Information) and thus exhibited largely increased adhesion to the SEBS substrate compared to that of LM (Figure 2b), resulting in improved printability and stability during stretching.…”

Electrospun Nanofiber-Based Bioinspired Artificial Skins for Healthcare Monitoring and Human-Machine Interaction

“…Therefore, it has higher requirements on material permeability, tensile resistance, and biocompatibility [ 139 ]. Due to its high porosity, high toughness, and small mass, electrospun nanofiber-based bioinspired artificial skins with high flexibility and a three-dimensional porous mesh structure are often considered as the first choice [ 140 , 141 , 142 , 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 ].…”

Flexible Metasurfaces for Multifunctional Interfaces

“…Examples include epidermal, − wearable, − and implantable bioelectronics. − These devices enable continuous, noninvasive monitoring of vital physiological signals in real time, comfortably providing clinically relevant information for disease diagnosis, preventive healthcare, and rehabilitation. − These devices are particularly promising for managing chronic diseases like cardiovascular issues, metabolic disorders, and diabetes, which are of significant in an aging population. − During health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, they can reduce the need for hospital visits and readmissions . Beyond bioelectronics, the versatility of flexible electronics extends to wearable energy harvesters, − robotic skins for haptic interfaces, − and smart skins for aircraft to measure aerodynamic parameters in situ . − The trend towards flexible electronics is also evident in fields like photonics, acoustics, , metamaterials, and etc. These devices are ultrathin, low-modulus, and lightweight, making them “mechanically invisible” when applied to objects with arbitrary surfaces. − …”