Department of Chemistry and the Materials Research Center, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208, USA.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77004, USA.
Nat Commun. 2020 May 15;11(1):2405. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16268-8.
Fiber-based electronics enabling lightweight and mechanically flexible/stretchable functions are desirable for numerous e-textile/e-skin optoelectronic applications. These wearable devices require low-cost manufacturing, high reliability, multifunctionality and long-term stability. Here, we report the preparation of representative classes of 3D-inorganic nanofiber network (FN) films by a blow-spinning technique, including semiconducting indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) and copper oxide, as well as conducting indium-tin oxide and copper metal. Specifically, thin-film transistors based on IGZO FN exhibit negligible performance degradation after one thousand bending cycles and exceptional room-temperature gas sensing performance. Owing to their great stretchability, these metal oxide FNs can be laminated/embedded on/into elastomers, yielding multifunctional single-sensing resistors as well as fully monolithically integrated e-skin devices. These can detect and differentiate multiple stimuli including analytes, light, strain, pressure, temperature, humidity, body movement, and respiratory functions. All of these FN-based devices exhibit excellent sensitivity, response time, and detection limits, making them promising candidates for versatile wearable electronics.
用于轻质和机械柔性/可拉伸功能的纤维基电子产品对于许多电子纺织品/电子皮肤光电应用是理想的。这些可穿戴设备需要低成本制造、高可靠性、多功能性和长期稳定性。在这里，我们通过吹纺技术报告了代表性的三维无机纳米纤维网络（FN）薄膜的制备，包括半导体铟镓锌氧化物（IGZO）和氧化铜，以及导电铟锡氧化物和铜金属。具体而言，基于 IGZO FN 的薄膜晶体管在一千次弯曲循环后性能几乎没有下降，并且具有出色的室温气体传感性能。由于其高拉伸性，这些金属氧化物 FN 可以层压/嵌入弹性体中，形成多功能单感应电阻器以及完全单片集成的电子皮肤设备。这些设备可以检测和区分多种刺激物，包括分析物、光、应变、压力、温度、湿度、身体运动和呼吸功能。所有这些基于 FN 的设备都表现出优异的灵敏度、响应时间和检测限，使其成为多功能可穿戴电子产品的有前途的候选者。
