Highly Elastically Deformable Coiled CNT/Polymer Fibers for Wearable Strain Sensors and Stretchable Supercapacitors.

Stretchable yarn/fiber electronics with conductive features are optimal components for different wearable devices. This paper presents the construction of coil structure-based carbon nanotube (CNT)/polymer fibers with adjustable piezoresistivity. The composite unit fiber is prepared by wrapping a conductive carbon CNT sheath onto an elastic spandex core. Owing to the helical coil structure, the resultant CNT/polymer composite fibers are highly stretchable (up to approximately 300%) without a noticeable electrical breakdown. More specifically, based on the difference in the coil index (which is the ratio of the coil diameter to the diameter of the fiber within the coil) according to the polymeric core fiber (spandex or nylon), the composite fiber can be used for two different applications (i.e., as strain sensors or supercapacitors), which are presented in this paper. The coiled CNT/spandex composite fiber sensor responds sensitively to tensile strain. The coiled CNT/nylon composite fiber can be employed as an elastic supercapacitor with excellent capacitance retention at 300% strain.

High-Performance Biscrolled Ni-Fe Yarn Battery with Outer Buffer Layer.

The increasing demand for portable and wearable electronics has promoted the development of safe and flexible yarn-based batteries with outstanding electrochemical properties. However, achieving superior energy storage performance with a high active material (AM) load and long cycle life with this device format remains a challenge. In this study, a stable and rechargeable high-performance aqueous Ni-Fe yarn battery was constructed via biscrolling to embed AMs within helical carbon nanotube (CNT) yarn corridors. Owing to the high load of charge storage nanoparticles (NPs; above 97 wt%) and the outer neat CNT layer, the buffered biscrolled Ni-Fe yarn battery demonstrates excellent linear capacity (0.053 mAh/cm) and cycling stability (60.1% retention after 300 charge/discharge cycles) in an aqueous electrolyte. Moreover, our flexible yarn battery exhibits maximum energy/power densities of 422 mWh/cm3 and 7535 mW/cm3 based on the total volume of the cathode and anode, respectively, which exceed those reported for many flexible Ni-Fe batteries. Thus, biscrolled Ni-Fe yarn batteries are promising candidates for next-generation conformal energy solutions.

Stretchy Electrochemical Harvesters for Binarized Self-Powered Strain Gauge-Based Static Motion Sensors.

The human monitoring system has motivated the search for new technology, leading to the development of a self-powered strain sensor. We report on the stretchable and soft stretchy electrochemical harvester (SECH) bilayer for a binarized self-powered strain gauge in dynamic and static motion. The active surface area participating in the electrochemical reaction was enhanced after stretching the SECH in the electrolyte, leading to an increase in the electrochemical double-layer capacitance. A change in the capacitance induced a change in the electrical potential of the bilayer, generating electrical energy. The SECH overcomes several challenges of the previous mechano-electrochemical harvester: The harvester had high elasticity (50%), which satisfied the required strain during human motion. The harvester was highly soft (modulus of 5.8 MPa), 103 times lower than that of the previous harvester. The SECH can be applied to a self-powered strain gauge, capable of measuring stationary deformation and low-speed motion. The SECH created a system to examine the configuration of the human body, as demonstrated by the human monitoring sensor from five independent SECH assembled on the hand. Furthermore, the sensing information was simplified through the binarized signal. It can be used to assess the hand configuration for hand signals and sign language.

Integrated Mechano-Electrochemical Harvesting Fiber and Thermally Responsive Artificial Muscle for Self-Powered Temperature-Strain Dual-Parameter Sensor.

Significant progress in healthcare fields around the world has inspired us to develop a wearable strain−temperature sensor that can monitor biomedical signals in daily life. This novel self-powered temperature−strain dual-parameter sensor comprises a mechano-electrochemical harvester (MEH) and a thermally responsive artificial muscle (TAM). The MEHTAM system generates electricity from strain and thermal fluctuations. In addition, the sensor is comfortable to wear, owing to its stretchability (>100%), softness (<3 MPa), and one-dimensional fibers (diameter 230 µm). The MEH induces a change in the electrochemical capacitance, resulting in an electrical signal under applied strain (34 µA/m) and stress (20 µA/(m·MPa)). The TAM can be used as a mechanical temperature sensor, because the tensile stroke responds linearly to changes in temperature. As the harvester and artificial muscle are combined, the MEHTAM system generates electricity, owing to external and internal mechanical stimuli caused by muscle contractions as a response to temperature changes. The MEHTAM system that we have developed­a self-powered, strain−temperature dual-parameter sensor that is soft, stretchable, and fiber-shaped­is an interesting candidate for the production of comfortable, wearable, dual-parameter sensors.

PdO-Nanoparticle-Embedded Carbon Nanotube Yarns for Wearable Hydrogen Gas Sensing Platforms with Fast and Sensitive Responses.

Hydrogen (H2) gas has recently become a crucial energy source and an imperative energy vector, emerging as a powerful next-generation solution for fuel cells and biomedical, transportation, and household applications. With increasing interest in H2, safety concerns regarding personal injuries from its flammability and explosion at high concentrations (>4%) have inspired the development of wearable pre-emptive gas monitoring platforms that can operate on curved and jointed parts of the human body. In this study, a yarn-type hydrogen gas sensing platform (HGSP) was developed by biscrolling of palladium oxide nanoparticles (PdO NPs) and spinnable carbon nanotube (CNT) buckypapers. Because of the high loading of H2-active PdO NPs (up to 97.7 wt %), when exposed to a flammable H2 concentration (4 vol %), the biscrolled HGSP yarn exhibits a short response time of 2 s, with a high sensitivity of 1198% (defined as ΔG/G0 × 100%). Interestingly, during the reduction of PdO to Pd by H2 gas, the HGSP yarn experienced a decrease in diameter and corresponding volume contraction. These excellent sensing performances suggest that the fabricated HGSP yarn could be applied to a wearable gas monitoring platform for real-time detection of H2 gas leakage even over the bends of joints.