A flexible protective electronic skin with tunable anti-impact and thermal insulation properties for potential rescue applications†

Abstract

Flexible structural materials with multifunctional protective properties and intelligent sensing characteristics have garnered significant attention in recent research. Here, a sandwich-structured flexible protective electronic skin (FPES) was fabricated to provide synergistic protection against force and heat. The FPES, with dimensions of 25 × 25 × 11 mm³, demonstrated good impact resistance, effectively reducing impact force from 7.06 kN to 1.60 kN. Additionally, it exhibited impressive thermal insulation, maintaining a minimum upper surface temperature of 53.2 °C after being exposed on a 100 °C base plate for 30 minutes. Notably, owing to its shape memory performance, the impact and thermal protection capabilities of FPES could be dynamically adjusted by varying its thickness and area. Beyond its protective functions, FPES also served as an active feedback material with sensing capabilities for monitoring impacts and high temperatures. To illustrate its practical application, an integrated impact-heat alarm system was developed, showing its potential use in disaster rescue operations.