A fabric-based wearable sensor for continuous monitoring of decubitus ulcer of subjects lying on a bed.

For multifunctional wearable sensing systems, problems related to wireless and continuous communication and soft, noninvasive, and disposable functionality issues should be solved for precise physiological signal detection. To measure the critical transitions of pressure, temperature, and skin impedance when continuous pressure is applied on skin and tissue, we developed a sensor for decubitus ulcers using conventional analog circuitry for wireless and continuous communication in a disposable, breathable fabric-based multifunctional sensing system capable of conformal contact. By integrating the designed wireless communication module into a multifunctional sensor, we obtained sensing data that were sent sequentially and continuously to a customized mobile phone app. With a small-sized and lightweight module, our sensing system operated over 24 h with a coin-cell battery consuming minimum energy for intermittent sensing and transmission. We conducted a pilot test on healthy subjects to evaluate the adequate wireless operation of the multifunctional sensing system when applied to the body. By solving the aforementioned practical problems, including those related to wireless and continuous communication and soft, noninvasive, and disposable functionality issues, our fabric-based multifunctional decubitus ulcer sensor successfully measured applied pressure, skin temperature, and electrical skin impedance.

A fabric-based multifunctional sensor for the early detection of skin decubitus ulcers.

Monitoring biosignals at the skin interface is necessary to suppress the potential for decubitus ulcers in immobile patients confined to bed. We develop conformally contacted, disposable, and breathable fabric-based electronic devices to detect skin impedance, applied pressure, and temperature, simultaneously. Based on the experimental evaluation of the multifunctional sensors, a combination of robust AgNW electrodes, soft ionogel capacitive pressure sensor, and resistive temperature sensor on fabric provides alarmed the initiation of early-stage decubitus ulcers without signal distortion under the external stimulus. For clinical verification, an animal model is established with a pair of magnets to mimic a human decubitus ulcers model in murine in vivo. The evidence of pressure-induced ischemic injury is confirmed with the naked eye and histological and molecular biomarker analyses. Our multifunctional integrated sensor detects the critical time for early-stage decubitus ulcer, establishing a robust correlation with the biophysical parameters of skin ischemia and integrity, including temperature and impedance.

Photothermochemical Nanoassembly of 3D Porous Graphene and Palladium Nanoparticles for High-Performance Hydrogen Detection.

Hybrid materials comprising graphene and palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) are desirable for high-performance hydrogen detection because of the high specific surface area, electron mobility, and flexibility of graphene and the high electrochemical responsivity and reversibility of PdNPs. However, obtaining hybrid materials is energy-intensive and time-consuming. Here, a facile and rapid laser photothermochemical single-step processing method to synchronously produce a nanoassembly of three-dimensional porous graphene and PdNPs from polymer films is reported. Polymers with intrinsic microporosity show high solubility in volatile solvents and miscibility with inorganic materials, allowing the fabrication of homogeneous polymer films containing Pd ligands. The films are photothermally processed using a laser to generate a nanohybrid via photoinduced thermal and chemical processes. The nanohybrid exhibits four-times-enhanced electrical conductivity compared to plain porous graphene, high crystallinity, and coherent covalent metal bonds with a homogeneous size and distribution of PdNPs in hierarchical micro/meso/macroporous graphene structures, allowing high-performance hydrogen sensing (1 ppm) with outstanding mechanical reliability, flexibility, and durability upon bending and twisting. The nanoassembly is integrated with a wireless sensing platform, and hydrogen leakage (1 ppm) is detected using a smart phone. This laser-based nanomanufacturing of the nanoassembly can potentially be applied to wearable detector production platforms in the military and industry.

Effect of Oxygen Functional Groups in Reduced Graphene Oxide-Coated Silk Electronic Textiles for Enhancement of NO2 Gas-Sensing Performance.

An electronic textile-based NO2 gas sensor was fabricated using commercial silk and graphene oxide (GO). It showed a fast response time and excellent sensing performance, which was simply accomplished by modifying the heat-treatment process. The heat treatment was conducted at 400 °C and different heating rates of 1, 3, and 5 °C/min. Compared with our previous research, the response time significantly decreased, from 32.5 to 3.26 min, and we found that the highest response was obtained with the sensor treated at a heating rate of 1 °C/min. To find the reason for this enhanced sensing performance, the morphology, structure, and chemical composition of the reduced GO (rGO) were investigated, depending on the thermal treatment process, using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We also measured the temperature-dependent resistance of rGO, which was well described by the fluctuation-induced tunneling (FIT) model. These results revealed that the rGO thermally treated with 1 °C/min of heating rate had the largest amount of oxygen groups. This means that the oxygen functional groups play an important role in NO2 gas-sensing performance.

Charge transport in pyroprotein-based electronic yarns.

Pyroprotein-based carbon materials produced by heat-treating silk proteins have many potential applications in electronic devices, such as electronic textiles. To further develop potential electronic devices using these pyroproteins, the charge transport mechanism has to be verified. However, the electrical characteristics of the pyroproteins have not been reported yet. In this study, the temperature-dependent charge transport behavior of pyroprotein-based electronic yarns prepared from commercial silks (e-CS yarns) is investigated with respect to various heat treatment temperatures (HTT, 800, 1000, 1200, and 1400 °C). The linear current-voltage properties are shown at a low bias of 100 nA from 9 K to 300 K. The temperature-dependent resistivity of the e-CS yarns can be clearly described by the crossover of 3-dimensional Mott variable range hopping and fluctuation-induced tunneling conduction at the crossover temperature (Tc). These Tc factors are significantly different, due to the structural modulation of the e-CS yarns depending on the HTT, and are characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. This study is expected to provide a better understanding of the electrical properties of pyroproteins.

Interaction between V2O5 nanowires and high pressure CO2 gas up to 45 bar: Electrical and structural study.

In the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) process that converts ethylbenzene to styrene, vanadium-based catalysts, especially V2O5, are used in a CO2 atmosphere to enhance process efficiency. Here we demonstrate that the activation energy of V2O5 can be manipulated by exposure to high pressure CO2, using V2O5 nanowires (VON). The oxidation of V4+ to V5+ was observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The ratio of V4+/V5+ which the typical comparable feature decreased 73.42%. We also found an increase in the interlayer distance in VON from 9.95 Å to 10.10 Å using X-ray diffraction patterns. We observed changes in the peaks of the stretching mode of bridging triply coordinated oxygen (V3-O), and the bending vibration of the bridging V-O-V, using Raman spectroscopy. We confirmed this propensity by measuring the CO2 pressure-dependent conductance of VON, up to 45 bar. 92.52% of decrease in the maximum conductance compared with that of the pristine VON was observed. The results of this study suggest that ODH process performance can be improved using the VON catalyst in a high pressure CO2 atmosphere.

Single-Shot Imaging of Two-Wavelength Spatial Phase-Shifting Interferometry.

In this investigation, we propose an effective method to measure 3D surface profiles of specimens with single-shot imaging. Based on the two-wavelength interferometric principle and spatial phase-shifting technique using a polarization pixelated camera, the proposed system can not only rapidly measure the phase, but also overcome the 2π-ambiguity problem of typical phase-shifting interferometry. The rough surface profile can be calculated by the visibility of the interference fringe and can compensate for the height discontinuity by phase jumps occurring in a fine height map. An inclined plane mirror and a step height specimen with 9 µm were used for the validation of capability of measuring continuously smooth surface and large step heights. The measurement results were in good agreement with the results of typical two-wavelength interferometry.

High-speed polarized low coherence scanning interferometry based on spatial phase shifting.

In this investigation, we describe polarized low coherence scanning interferometry (PLCSI) to enhance the measurement speed based on the spatial phase shifting technique by using a polarized CMOS camera. In every scanning step, the visibility of the correlogram can be directly extracted by spatial phase shifting. PLCSI does not need any scanning conditions such as a scanning step size smaller than that determined by the Nyquist sampling limit and equidistant scanning step, which restrict the measurement speed of the typical low coherence scanning interferometry (LCSI). The measurement data can also be significantly reduced due to the larger scanning step size. PLCSI can be comparable to confocal scanning microscopy in the view of monitoring visibilities. In the experiments, three types of specimens such as a plane mirror, a concave mirror, and a step height specimen were measured by PLCSI with various scanning step sizes, and it was confirmed that the surface profiles were successfully reconstructed. Moreover, the compensation technique of the surface profile, precisely determined by the phase information, was also discussed.

Commercial Silk-Based Electronic Yarns Fabricated Using Microwave Irradiation.

Electronic textiles (e-textiles) are being developed because of their potential applications in wearable and flexible electronics. However, complex procedures and chemical agents are required to synthesize carbon-based e-textiles. Pyroprotein-based e-textiles, obtained by the pyrolysis of silk proteins, consume large amounts of time and energy due to the high-temperature process (from 800 to 2800 °C). In this study, we report a novel method of fabricating pyroprotein-based electronic yarns (e-yarns) using microwave irradiation. Microwaves were applied to pyroprotein treated at 650 °C to remove numerous heteroatoms in a short time without the high-temperature process and chemical agents. The structural modulation was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We found a reduction in heteroatoms and enlargement of the carbon region. The temperature-dependent resistance was well explained by the fluctuation-induced tunneling model, which also showed structural modification. The electrical conductivity of the fabricated e-yarns was comparable to that of pyroprotein-based e-textiles heat-treated at 1000 °C (order of 102 S/cm) and showed electrical stability under bending.

Influence of hydrogen incorporation on conductivity and work function of VO2 nanowires.

We report improved conductance by reducing the work function via incorporation of hydrogen into VO2 nanowires. The VO2 nanowires were prepared using the chemical vapor deposition method with V2O5 powder on silicon substrates at 850 °C. Hydrogenation was carried out using the high-pressure hydrogenation method. Raman spectroscopy confirmed that the incorporated hydrogen atoms resulted in a change in the lattice constant of the VO2 nanowires (NWs). To quantitatively measure the work function of the nanowires, Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) was employed at ambient conditions. We found that the work function decreased with increasing H2 pressure, which also resulted in increased conductance. This is associated with hydrogen diffused into the VO2 that acts as a donor to elevate the Fermi level, which was also confirmed by KPFM. From these results, tuning of the reversible electrical properties of VO2 NWs, including the conductance and work function, can be achieved by incorporating hydrogen at relatively moderate temperatures.

Electronic-dimensionality reduction of bulk MoS2 by hydrogen treatment.

A reduction in the electronic-dimensionality of materials is one method for achieving improvements in material properties. Here, a reduction in electronic-dimensionality is demonstrated using a simple hydrogen treatment technique. Quantum well states from hydrogen-treated bulk 2H-MoS2 are observed using angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES). The electronic states are confined within a few MoS2 layers after the hydrogen treatment. A significant reduction in the band-gap can also be achieved after the hydrogen treatment, and both phenomena can be explained by the formation of sulfur vacancies generated by the chemical reaction between sulfur and hydrogen.

Ultra strong pyroprotein fibres with long-range ordering.

Silks are protein-based natural structured materials with an unusual combination of high strength and elongation. Their unique microstructural features composed of hard ß-sheet crystals aligned within a soft amorphous region lead to the robust properties of silks. Herein we report a large enhancement in the intrinsic properties of silk through the transformation of the basic building blocks into a poly-hexagonal carbon structure by a simple heat treatment with axial stretching. The carbon clusters originating from the ß-sheet retain the preferred orientation along the fibre axis, resulting in a long-range-ordered graphitic structure by increasing heat-treatment temperatures and leading improvements in mechanical properties with a maximum strength and modulus up to ∼2.6 and ∼470 GPa, respectively, almost four and thirty times surpassing those of raw silk. Moreover, the formation of sp 2 carbon configurations induce a significant change in the electrical properties (e.g. an electrical conductivity up to 4.37 × 103 S cm-1).The mechanical properties of silk are determined by tight stacks of sheet-like peptide crystals distributed in amorphous regions. Here, the authors heat and stretch silk fibres to align these crystal into a long range ordered carbon structure and dramatically enhance the silk strength.

Pyroprotein-Based Electronic Textiles with High Stability.

Thermally reducible pyroprotein-based electronic textiles (e-textiles) are fabricated using graphene oxide and a pyroprotein such as cocoon silk and spider web without any chemical agents. The electrical conductivity of the e-textile is 11.63 S cm-1 , which is maintained even in bending, washing, and temperature variation.

Lead and copper removal from aqueous solutions using carbon foam derived from phenol resin.

Phenolic resin-based carbon foam was prepared as an adsorbent for removing heavy metals from aqueous solutions. The surface of the produced carbon foam had a well-developed open cell structure and the specific surface area according to the BET model was 458.59m(2)g(-1). Batch experiments showed that removal ratio increased in the order of copper (19.83%), zinc (34.35%), cadmium (59.82%), and lead (73.99%) in mixed solutions with the same initial concentration (50mgL(-1)). The results indicated that the Sips isotherm model was the most suitable for describing the experimental data of lead and copper. The maximum adsorption capacity of lead and copper determined to Sips model were 491mgg(-1) and 247mgg(-1). The obtained pore diffusion coefficients for lead and copper were found to be 1.02×10(-6) and 2.42×10(-7)m(2)s(-1), respectively. Post-sorption characteristics indicated that surface precipitation was the primary mechanism of lead and copper removal by the carbon foam, while the functional groups on the surface of the foam did not affect metal adsorption.