Pub Date : 2024-09-30DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00345-9
Jianhong Zhang, Xinhui Mao, Qingyan Jia, Renhao Nie, Yangyang Gao, Kai Tao, Honglong Chang, Peng Li, Wei Huang
Photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a clinical method relies on appropriate light delivery to activate photosensitizers, usually necessitates the utilization of cumbersome surgical instruments and high irradiation intensity, along with the requirement for hospitalization. To extend the applicability of PDT beyond hospital for better patient mobility, we design a wearable and self-powered metronomic PDT (mPDT) system for chronic wound infection treatment. A flexible alternative current electroluminescent (ACEL) device is constructed through sandwiching an emissive layer between conductive hydrogel electrodes. This ACEL device works as a therapeutic patch by loading photosensitizer (PS) in its bottom hydrogel electrode, thus aviods the intravenous administration to patients. Under the triboelectric nanogenerator generated AC pulse, the electroluminescence produced from emissive layer can be absorbed by the PS-loaded electrode to generate reactive oxygen species for mPDT. Benefited from its arbitrary tailorability, this device can be customized into on-demand shapes and sizes. Using diabetic infected wound as a model condition, this ACEL mPDT device effectively eliminates drug-resistant bacteria and accelerates wound healing. Thus, the body-worn optoelectronic device successfully avoids the utilization of extracorporeal physical light and power sources, providing a promising strategy for convenient, user-friendly, and prolonged treatment of superficial diseases.
光动力疗法（PDT）作为一种临床方法，依赖于适当的光传递来激活光敏剂，通常需要使用笨重的手术器械和高强度的照射，而且需要住院治疗。为了将光化学疗法的适用范围扩大到医院以外，使病人有更好的行动能力，我们设计了一种可穿戴、自供电的节律光化学疗法（mPDT）系统，用于慢性伤口感染治疗。我们在导电水凝胶电极之间夹了一层发射层，从而构建了一个灵活的替代电流电致发光（ACEL）装置。通过在底部水凝胶电极中加入光敏剂（PS），这种替代电流电致发光（ACEL）装置可用作治疗贴片，从而避免了患者的静脉注射。在三电纳米发电机产生的交流脉冲下，发射层产生的电致发光可被负载 PS 的电极吸收，从而产生活性氧，用于 mPDT。得益于其任意定制性，该装置可按需定制形状和尺寸。以糖尿病感染伤口为模型条件，这种 ACEL mPDT 设备可有效消除耐药细菌并加速伤口愈合。因此，这种体戴式光电设备成功地避免了使用体外物理光源和电源，为方便、易用和延长浅表疾病的治疗时间提供了一种前景广阔的策略。
{"title":"Body-worn and self-powered flexible optoelectronic device for metronomic photodynamic therapy","authors":"Jianhong Zhang, Xinhui Mao, Qingyan Jia, Renhao Nie, Yangyang Gao, Kai Tao, Honglong Chang, Peng Li, Wei Huang","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00345-9","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00345-9","url":null,"abstract":"Photodynamic therapy (PDT) as a clinical method relies on appropriate light delivery to activate photosensitizers, usually necessitates the utilization of cumbersome surgical instruments and high irradiation intensity, along with the requirement for hospitalization. To extend the applicability of PDT beyond hospital for better patient mobility, we design a wearable and self-powered metronomic PDT (mPDT) system for chronic wound infection treatment. A flexible alternative current electroluminescent (ACEL) device is constructed through sandwiching an emissive layer between conductive hydrogel electrodes. This ACEL device works as a therapeutic patch by loading photosensitizer (PS) in its bottom hydrogel electrode, thus aviods the intravenous administration to patients. Under the triboelectric nanogenerator generated AC pulse, the electroluminescence produced from emissive layer can be absorbed by the PS-loaded electrode to generate reactive oxygen species for mPDT. Benefited from its arbitrary tailorability, this device can be customized into on-demand shapes and sizes. Using diabetic infected wound as a model condition, this ACEL mPDT device effectively eliminates drug-resistant bacteria and accelerates wound healing. Thus, the body-worn optoelectronic device successfully avoids the utilization of extracorporeal physical light and power sources, providing a promising strategy for convenient, user-friendly, and prolonged treatment of superficial diseases.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00345-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142329694","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-19DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00348-6
Minki Kim, Minjae Cho, Chongyoung Chung, Ki-Uk Kyung
Electric heaters based on functional materials and innovative designs have been developed for various applications. In this paper, we propose a soft dielectric heater (SDH) using polyvinyl chloride-gel (PVC-gel) as the dielectric heater and hydrogel as stretchable electrodes. Under an AC voltage, the leakage current in the PVC-gel leads to continuous injection and discharge of charges, causing the polarized plasticizers and flexible PVC chains to vibrate and collide, thereby generating heat through dielectric heating. Furthermore, the SDH generates a uniform temperature distribution even under strains up to 400%. Besides, high transmittance over 86% across the visible range renders it suitable for wearable or skin-mountable heaters from an esthetic viewpoint. Its capacitor-like structure achieves a scalable design, enabling extension from a singular cell to a row/column addressable and pixelated array of heaters. The 5 × 5 SDH array can deliver varied thermal information and sensations while maintaining performance even when stretched.
{"title":"Stretchable, transparent and multifunctional PVC-gel heater: a novel approach to skin-mountable, wearable thermal devices","authors":"Minki Kim, Minjae Cho, Chongyoung Chung, Ki-Uk Kyung","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00348-6","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00348-6","url":null,"abstract":"Electric heaters based on functional materials and innovative designs have been developed for various applications. In this paper, we propose a soft dielectric heater (SDH) using polyvinyl chloride-gel (PVC-gel) as the dielectric heater and hydrogel as stretchable electrodes. Under an AC voltage, the leakage current in the PVC-gel leads to continuous injection and discharge of charges, causing the polarized plasticizers and flexible PVC chains to vibrate and collide, thereby generating heat through dielectric heating. Furthermore, the SDH generates a uniform temperature distribution even under strains up to 400%. Besides, high transmittance over 86% across the visible range renders it suitable for wearable or skin-mountable heaters from an esthetic viewpoint. Its capacitor-like structure achieves a scalable design, enabling extension from a singular cell to a row/column addressable and pixelated array of heaters. The 5 × 5 SDH array can deliver varied thermal information and sensations while maintaining performance even when stretched.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00348-6.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142273349","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-16DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00347-7
Ha Kyung Park, Kanghoon Yim, Jiyoon Lee, Yunae Cho, Inyoung Jeong, Donghyeop Shin, Jihye Gwak, Aron Walsh, Kihwan Kim, William Jo
Flexible and lightweight Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells are promising for versatile applications, but there is limited understanding of stress-induced changes. In this study, the charge carrier generation and trapping behavior under mechanical stress was investigated using flexible CIGS thin-film solar cells with various alkali treatments. Surface current at the CIGS surface decreased by convex bending, which occurs less with the incorporation of alkali metals. The formation energy of the carrier generating defects increased in convex bending environments clarifying the degradation of the surface current. Moreover, alkali-related defects had lower formation energy than the intrinsic acceptors, mitigating current degradation in mechanical stress condition. The altered defect energy levels were attributed to the deformation of the crystal structure under bending states. This study provides insights into the mitigating of strain-induced charge degradation for enhancing the performance and robustness of flexible CIGS photovoltaic devices.
{"title":"Interplay between strain and charge in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 flexible photovoltaics","authors":"Ha Kyung Park, Kanghoon Yim, Jiyoon Lee, Yunae Cho, Inyoung Jeong, Donghyeop Shin, Jihye Gwak, Aron Walsh, Kihwan Kim, William Jo","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00347-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00347-7","url":null,"abstract":"Flexible and lightweight Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) thin-film solar cells are promising for versatile applications, but there is limited understanding of stress-induced changes. In this study, the charge carrier generation and trapping behavior under mechanical stress was investigated using flexible CIGS thin-film solar cells with various alkali treatments. Surface current at the CIGS surface decreased by convex bending, which occurs less with the incorporation of alkali metals. The formation energy of the carrier generating defects increased in convex bending environments clarifying the degradation of the surface current. Moreover, alkali-related defects had lower formation energy than the intrinsic acceptors, mitigating current degradation in mechanical stress condition. The altered defect energy levels were attributed to the deformation of the crystal structure under bending states. This study provides insights into the mitigating of strain-induced charge degradation for enhancing the performance and robustness of flexible CIGS photovoltaic devices.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-8"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00347-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142235096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-10DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00343-x
Ajay Nimbalkar, Aqsa Irfan, Min Chul Suh
Stretchable organic light-emitting diodes (SOLEDs) have been the challenging class of OLEDs as they have limited processability to fabricate a design that can withstand external deformation. Herein, we demonstrated the highly efficient top-emitting geometrical stretchable OLED (GSOLED) by incorporating the prestretched elastomer with optical adhesive film. The experimental and theoretical characterizations verified the enhancement of device efficiencies with the light extraction phenomenon brought by nanowavy corrugated structures. Furthermore, GSOLED shows stability in stretchable conditions and displays narrower emission spectrum with improved color purity. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 21 nm shows narrowband emission with a high current efficiency and EQE of 221 cd A−1 and 39.50%. This work marks a significant step forward, providing unprecedented insights into the factors influencing device performance in current and future material systems for stretchable organic light-emitting diodes.
{"title":"Creating highly efficient stretchable OLEDs with nanowavy structures for angle-independent narrow band emission","authors":"Ajay Nimbalkar, Aqsa Irfan, Min Chul Suh","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00343-x","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00343-x","url":null,"abstract":"Stretchable organic light-emitting diodes (SOLEDs) have been the challenging class of OLEDs as they have limited processability to fabricate a design that can withstand external deformation. Herein, we demonstrated the highly efficient top-emitting geometrical stretchable OLED (GSOLED) by incorporating the prestretched elastomer with optical adhesive film. The experimental and theoretical characterizations verified the enhancement of device efficiencies with the light extraction phenomenon brought by nanowavy corrugated structures. Furthermore, GSOLED shows stability in stretchable conditions and displays narrower emission spectrum with improved color purity. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 21 nm shows narrowband emission with a high current efficiency and EQE of 221 cd A−1 and 39.50%. This work marks a significant step forward, providing unprecedented insights into the factors influencing device performance in current and future material systems for stretchable organic light-emitting diodes.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00343-x.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142160360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Flexible devices, such as soft bioelectronics and stretchable supercapacitors, have their practical performance limited by electrodes which are desired to have high conductivity and capacitance, outstanding mechanical flexibility and strength, great electrochemical stability, and good biocompatibility. Here, we report a simple and efficient method to synthesize a nanostructured conductive hydrogel to meet such criteria. Specifically, templated by a hyperconnective nanofibrous network from aramid hydrogels, the conducting polymer, polypyrrole, assembles conformally onto nanofibers through in-situ polymerization, generating continuous nanostructured conductive pathways. The resulting conductive hydrogel shows superior conductivity (72 S cm−1) and fracture strength (27.2 MPa). Supercapacitor electrodes utilizing this hydrogel exhibit high specific capacitance (240 F g−1) and cyclic stability. Furthermore, bioelectrodes of patterned hydrogels provide favorable bioelectronic interfaces, allowing high-quality electrophysiological recording and stimulation in physiological environments. These high-performance electrodes are readily scalable to applications of energy and power systems, healthcare and medical technologies, smart textiles, and so forth.
软生物电子学和可拉伸超级电容器等柔性设备的实用性能受到电极的限制，电极需要具有高导电性和电容、出色的机械柔韧性和强度、高电化学稳定性和良好的生物相容性。在此，我们报告了一种简单高效的方法来合成符合上述标准的纳米结构导电水凝胶。具体来说，以芳纶水凝胶的超连接纳米纤维网为模板，导电聚合物聚吡咯通过原位聚合作用顺应性地组装到纳米纤维上，产生连续的纳米结构导电通路。由此产生的导电水凝胶显示出卓越的导电性（72 S cm-1）和断裂强度（27.2 兆帕）。使用这种水凝胶的超级电容器电极具有很高的比电容（240 F g-1）和循环稳定性。此外，图案化水凝胶生物电极提供了有利的生物电子界面，可在生理环境中进行高质量的电生理记录和刺激。这些高性能电极可随时扩展到能源和电力系统、保健和医疗技术、智能纺织品等应用领域。
{"title":"Strong and high-conductivity hydrogels with all-polymer nanofibrous networks for applications as high-capacitance flexible electrodes","authors":"Huimin He, Yaqing Chen, Aoyang Pu, Li Wang, Wenxiu Li, Xiaoyu Zhou, Chuyang Y. Tang, Kiwon Ban, Mengsu Yang, Lizhi Xu","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00346-8","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00346-8","url":null,"abstract":"Flexible devices, such as soft bioelectronics and stretchable supercapacitors, have their practical performance limited by electrodes which are desired to have high conductivity and capacitance, outstanding mechanical flexibility and strength, great electrochemical stability, and good biocompatibility. Here, we report a simple and efficient method to synthesize a nanostructured conductive hydrogel to meet such criteria. Specifically, templated by a hyperconnective nanofibrous network from aramid hydrogels, the conducting polymer, polypyrrole, assembles conformally onto nanofibers through in-situ polymerization, generating continuous nanostructured conductive pathways. The resulting conductive hydrogel shows superior conductivity (72 S cm−1) and fracture strength (27.2 MPa). Supercapacitor electrodes utilizing this hydrogel exhibit high specific capacitance (240 F g−1) and cyclic stability. Furthermore, bioelectrodes of patterned hydrogels provide favorable bioelectronic interfaces, allowing high-quality electrophysiological recording and stimulation in physiological environments. These high-performance electrodes are readily scalable to applications of energy and power systems, healthcare and medical technologies, smart textiles, and so forth.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00346-8.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142160309","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-09-05DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00339-7
Chaoyang Kuang, Shangzhi Chen, Mingna Liao, Aiman Rahmanudin, Debashree Banerjee, Jesper Edberg, Klas Tybrandt, Dan Zhao, Magnus P. Jonsson
Materials that provide dynamically tunable infrared (IR) response are important for many applications, including active camouflage and thermal management. However, current IR-tunable systems often exhibit limitations in mechanical properties or practicality of their tuning modalities, or require complex and costly fabrication methods. An additional challenge relates to providing compatibility between different spectral channels, such as allowing an object to be reversibly concealed in the IR without making it appear in the visible range. Here, we demonstrate that conducting polymer-cellulose papers, fabricated through a simple and cheap approach, can overcome such challenges. The papers exhibit IR properties that can be electrochemically tuned with large modulation (absolute emissivity modulation of 0.4) while maintaining largely constant response in the visible range. Owing to high ionic and electrical conductivity, the tuning of the top surface can be performed electrochemically from the other side of the paper even at tens of micrometer thicknesses, removing the need for overlaying electrode and electrolyte in the optical beam path. These features enabled a series of electrically tunable IR devices, where we focus on demonstrating dynamic radiative coolers, thermal camouflage, anti-counterfeiting tags, and grayscale IR displays. The conducting polymer-cellulose papers are sustainable, cheap, flexible and mechanically robust, providing a versatile materials platform for active and adaptive IR optoelectronic devices.
{"title":"Electrically tunable infrared optics enabled by flexible ion-permeable conducting polymer-cellulose paper","authors":"Chaoyang Kuang, Shangzhi Chen, Mingna Liao, Aiman Rahmanudin, Debashree Banerjee, Jesper Edberg, Klas Tybrandt, Dan Zhao, Magnus P. Jonsson","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00339-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00339-7","url":null,"abstract":"Materials that provide dynamically tunable infrared (IR) response are important for many applications, including active camouflage and thermal management. However, current IR-tunable systems often exhibit limitations in mechanical properties or practicality of their tuning modalities, or require complex and costly fabrication methods. An additional challenge relates to providing compatibility between different spectral channels, such as allowing an object to be reversibly concealed in the IR without making it appear in the visible range. Here, we demonstrate that conducting polymer-cellulose papers, fabricated through a simple and cheap approach, can overcome such challenges. The papers exhibit IR properties that can be electrochemically tuned with large modulation (absolute emissivity modulation of 0.4) while maintaining largely constant response in the visible range. Owing to high ionic and electrical conductivity, the tuning of the top surface can be performed electrochemically from the other side of the paper even at tens of micrometer thicknesses, removing the need for overlaying electrode and electrolyte in the optical beam path. These features enabled a series of electrically tunable IR devices, where we focus on demonstrating dynamic radiative coolers, thermal camouflage, anti-counterfeiting tags, and grayscale IR displays. The conducting polymer-cellulose papers are sustainable, cheap, flexible and mechanically robust, providing a versatile materials platform for active and adaptive IR optoelectronic devices.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-11"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-09-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00339-7.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142142695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-30DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00340-0
Hansel Alex Hobbie, James L. Doherty, Brittany N. Smith, Paolo Maccarini, Aaron D. Franklin
With the growth of additive manufacturing (AM), there has been increasing demand for fabricating conformal electronics that directly integrate with larger components to enable unique functionality. However, fabrication of conformal electronics is challenging because devices must merge with host substrates regardless of curvilinearity, topography, or substrate material. In this work, we employ aerosol jet (AJ) printing, an AM method for jet printing electronics using ink-based materials, and a custom-made lathe mechanism for mounting flexible substrates and 3D objects on a rotating axis. Using this method of lathe-based AJ printing, conformal electronics are printed around the circumference of rotational bodies with 3D curvilinear surfaces through cylindrical-coordinate motion. We characterize the diverse capabilities of lathe AJ (LAJ) printing and demonstrate flexible conformal electronics including multilayer carbon nanotube transistors. Lastly, a graphene sensor is conformally printed on an inflated catheter balloon for temperature and inflation monitoring, thus highlighting the versatilities of LAJ printing.
随着增材制造（AM）技术的发展，人们对制造保形电子元件的需求日益增长，这种电子元件可直接与较大的元件集成，从而实现独特的功能。然而，保形电子器件的制造具有挑战性，因为器件必须与主机基底融合，而不受曲率、地形或基底材料的影响。在这项工作中，我们采用了气溶胶喷射（AJ）打印技术（一种使用墨基材料喷射打印电子元件的 AM 方法）和定制的车床装置，用于在旋转轴上安装柔性基底和三维物体。使用这种基于车床的 AJ 打印方法，可以通过圆柱坐标运动在旋转体的圆周上打印出具有三维曲线表面的保形电子器件。我们描述了车床 AJ（LAJ）打印的各种能力，并展示了包括多层碳纳米管晶体管在内的柔性保形电子器件。最后，我们在充气导管球囊上保形打印了一个石墨烯传感器，用于温度和充气监测，从而突出了 LAJ 打印的多功能性。
{"title":"Conformal printed electronics on flexible substrates and inflatable catheters using lathe-based aerosol jet printing","authors":"Hansel Alex Hobbie, James L. Doherty, Brittany N. Smith, Paolo Maccarini, Aaron D. Franklin","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00340-0","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00340-0","url":null,"abstract":"With the growth of additive manufacturing (AM), there has been increasing demand for fabricating conformal electronics that directly integrate with larger components to enable unique functionality. However, fabrication of conformal electronics is challenging because devices must merge with host substrates regardless of curvilinearity, topography, or substrate material. In this work, we employ aerosol jet (AJ) printing, an AM method for jet printing electronics using ink-based materials, and a custom-made lathe mechanism for mounting flexible substrates and 3D objects on a rotating axis. Using this method of lathe-based AJ printing, conformal electronics are printed around the circumference of rotational bodies with 3D curvilinear surfaces through cylindrical-coordinate motion. We characterize the diverse capabilities of lathe AJ (LAJ) printing and demonstrate flexible conformal electronics including multilayer carbon nanotube transistors. Lastly, a graphene sensor is conformally printed on an inflated catheter balloon for temperature and inflation monitoring, thus highlighting the versatilities of LAJ printing.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-12"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00340-0.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142100547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-29DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00341-z
Hongbin An, Xian Wang, Zhikang Liao, Liang Zhang, Hui Zhao, Yingyun Yang, Jizhou Song, Yinji Ma
Twenty-four hours continuous intraocular pressure (IOP) monitoring is beneficial for glaucoma care. Contact lens sensors using LC technology can achieve non-invasive continuous IOP measuring around the clock and are relatively simple in principle and structure, thus dominating the mainstream. Among them, stretchable inductive LC contact lens sensors constructed with liquid metal have advantages in signal quality as well as wearing comfort, but currently its sensitivity is slightly insufficient. Here, we propose an LC sensor that constructed with liquid metal to form the stretchable inductance and capacitance further. The capacitive plate and inductive coil can response to IOP changes simultaneously, thus able to enhance the sensitivity in principle. We modeled the sensing mechanism and conducted design, fabrication, as well as various tests. The device exhibits good characteristics, including reliability, good signal quality, etc. Especially, it has a threefold increase in sensitivity, exceeding the current state-of-the-art contact lens sensors.
{"title":"LC contact lens sensor for ultrasensitive intraocular pressure monitoring","authors":"Hongbin An, Xian Wang, Zhikang Liao, Liang Zhang, Hui Zhao, Yingyun Yang, Jizhou Song, Yinji Ma","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00341-z","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00341-z","url":null,"abstract":"Twenty-four hours continuous intraocular pressure (IOP) monitoring is beneficial for glaucoma care. Contact lens sensors using LC technology can achieve non-invasive continuous IOP measuring around the clock and are relatively simple in principle and structure, thus dominating the mainstream. Among them, stretchable inductive LC contact lens sensors constructed with liquid metal have advantages in signal quality as well as wearing comfort, but currently its sensitivity is slightly insufficient. Here, we propose an LC sensor that constructed with liquid metal to form the stretchable inductance and capacitance further. The capacitive plate and inductive coil can response to IOP changes simultaneously, thus able to enhance the sensitivity in principle. We modeled the sensing mechanism and conducted design, fabrication, as well as various tests. The device exhibits good characteristics, including reliability, good signal quality, etc. Especially, it has a threefold increase in sensitivity, exceeding the current state-of-the-art contact lens sensors.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-14"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00341-z.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142100556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-08-24DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00338-8
Mina Riahi, Kou Yoshida, Ifor D. W. Samuel
Flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are promising light sources for biomedical applications. However, the use of these flexible devices has been restricted by their short shelf lifetimes due to poor ambient stability. Here, the fabrication of a long-lived flexible OLED is reported by replacing air-sensitive metals such as aluminum, and alkali metals used as n dopants, with silver. In addition, to achieve stable and efficient flexible OLEDs we tuned the optical cavity length to the second-order interference maximum. The device design has simple encapsulation and leads to an improvement in the air stability of flexible OLEDs which show a shelf lifetime of greater than 130 days whereas the conventional structure exhibits degradation after only 12 days. The proposed design for making flexible OLEDs demonstrates a great potential for using the devices for wearable bioelectronic applications.
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Fabricating high-conductive composites and constructing highly conductive networks are crucial for high-performance electrothermal film. In this study, an Ag nanowires/graphene (Ag/G) composite synthesized by liquid-phase exfoliation and in-situ photoreduction is mixed with carbon black (CB) to form a composite conductive ink, and a CB/Ag/G composite electrothermal film with a point-line-plane three-dimensional microstructure is obtained via blade coating process. Both the addition of Ag nanowires and a subsequent compression rolling treatment induce the establishment of the effective conductive network in the film, endowing it with an outstanding conductivity of 399.4 S cm−1. The film reaches a Ts of 204 °C with an input voltage of 3.0 V, and is successfully applied in water heating and de-icing, demonstrating its extraordinary electrothermal performance and vast potential for practical applications. The film is also used as an electromagnetic shielding film and heat dissipation substrate, showing exceptional electromagnetic shielding (42.5 dB) and heat dissipation properties.
制造高导电复合材料和构建高导电网络对高性能电热膜至关重要。在本研究中，通过液相剥离和原位光还原合成了银纳米线/石墨烯（Ag/G）复合材料，并将其与炭黑（CB）混合形成复合导电墨水，通过叶片涂覆工艺获得了具有点-线-面三维微观结构的CB/Ag/G复合电热膜。银纳米线的加入和随后的压轧处理都促使薄膜中有效导电网络的建立，使其具有 399.4 S cm-1 的出色电导率。在输入电压为 3.0 V 的情况下，薄膜的温度可达 204 °C，并成功应用于水加热和除冰，显示了其非凡的电热性能和巨大的实际应用潜力。该薄膜还可用作电磁屏蔽膜和散热基板，显示出卓越的电磁屏蔽（42.5 dB）和散热性能。
{"title":"Multifunctional and high-performance electrothermal films based on carbon black/Ag nanowires/graphene composites","authors":"Zijian Wang, Wen Yu, Chaochao Gao, Zhenye Zhu, Jiaheng Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s41528-024-00336-w","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41528-024-00336-w","url":null,"abstract":"Fabricating high-conductive composites and constructing highly conductive networks are crucial for high-performance electrothermal film. In this study, an Ag nanowires/graphene (Ag/G) composite synthesized by liquid-phase exfoliation and in-situ photoreduction is mixed with carbon black (CB) to form a composite conductive ink, and a CB/Ag/G composite electrothermal film with a point-line-plane three-dimensional microstructure is obtained via blade coating process. Both the addition of Ag nanowires and a subsequent compression rolling treatment induce the establishment of the effective conductive network in the film, endowing it with an outstanding conductivity of 399.4 S cm−1. The film reaches a Ts of 204 °C with an input voltage of 3.0 V, and is successfully applied in water heating and de-icing, demonstrating its extraordinary electrothermal performance and vast potential for practical applications. The film is also used as an electromagnetic shielding film and heat dissipation substrate, showing exceptional electromagnetic shielding (42.5 dB) and heat dissipation properties.","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":12.3,"publicationDate":"2024-08-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.nature.com/articles/s41528-024-00336-w.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142050639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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