Wide‐temperature range thermoregulating e‐skin design through a hybrid structure of flexible thermoelectric devices and phase change materials heat sink

Abstract

The realization of the thermoregulating function of electronic skin (e-skin) by simulating the human temperature perception system can greatly improve the intelligence of the e-skin. Here, we report a thermoregulating e-skin that fits on the surface of a prosthetic limb based on a hybrid structure consisting of a flexible thermoelectric device and a phase-change heat sink. The hybrid e-skin possesses outstanding temperature adaptability similar to that of the human body; it can maintain the surface temperature at 35 C in environmental temperatures ranging from 10 to 45 C. The power expenditure of the e-skin is essentially the same as the energy required by the human body to regulate temperature and is only 14.22 mW cm À2 in the thermoneutral zone. Thermoregulation based on this e-skin can greatly improve the temperature distribution of the target surface, providing a promising solution for the biomimetic thermoregulation of robots and the next generation of intelligent prostheses.

Flexible Thermoelectric Devices with Flexible Heatsinks of Phase-Change Materials and Stretchable Interconnectors of Semi-Liquid Metals

“…Additionally, the study reports, for the first time, a temperature drop of 5.3 °C at an ambient temperature of 35 °C. Although the retention time of the PCM heatsink is still not long enough for practical applications, there are ways to extend its effectiveness, such as increasing the amount of PCM or adding effective ventilation . Overall, the successful implementation of TE devices integrated with different types of clothing lays a strong foundation for the future development of wearable cooling technology.…”

Structural engineering of electrodes for flexible energy storage devices

“…It offers high precision, design flexibility and material flexibility to produce a great range of periodic nanostructures with pore sizes ranging from hundreds of nanometers to several micrometers. [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] The advantages of this technique are demonstrated in several typical applications related to flexible metallic nanomesh electrodes including RGO/metal grid hybrid film, 52 Au nanomesh electrode, 53 nanostructured Ni or Cu metallic textiles for Li-ion batteries. 54 3D printing is a reliable approach to produce structural based electrodes owing to their ability to model complex geometric structures.…”

3D printed modular Bouligand dissipative structures with adjustable mechanical properties for gradient energy absorbing

“…In most DIW technologies, the ink materials generally meet the printing requirements by incorporating fillers. However, this approach is influenced by complex factors and does not facilitate the regulation of mechanical properties through structures [31][32][33][34].…”