“Paleoartists” attempt to hone their craft and captivate the public even as they grapple with emerging data that alter how we see dinosaurs.
Image credit: Mark Witton.
New Research In
Physical Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Biological Sciences
Featured Portals
Articles by Topic
Edited by John A. Rogers, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, and approved November 18, 2019 (received for review October 12, 2019)
Significance
Point-of-care thermal management (e.g., joule heating, passive cooling) shows promising applications in body temperature regulations, which can improve human comfort and reduce energy consumption. On-skin electronics with joule-heating elements have been reported. However, the research of making on-skin electronics with passive-cooling functionalities is still rare. By using multiscale porous polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene as supporting substrates, we have developed multifunctional on-skin electronics with outstanding passive-cooling capabilities, delivering around 6 °C cooling effects under a solar intensity of 840 W⋅m−2. Other desired properties, rooted in porous SEBS substrates, include high breathability and outstanding waterproofing. In addition, a variety of bioelectronic devices are made on porous SEBS substrates via spray printing of silver nanowires (Ag NWs). The enabled devices demonstrate high performance and are recyclable.
Abstract
In addition to mechanical compliance, achieving the full potential of on-skin electronics needs the introduction of other features. For example, substantial progress has been achieved in creating biodegradable, self-healing, or breathable, on-skin electronics. However, the research of making on-skin electronics with passive-cooling capabilities, which can reduce energy consumption and improve user comfort, is still rare. Herein, we report the development of multifunctional on-skin electronics, which can passively cool human bodies without needing any energy consumption. This property is inherited from multiscale porous polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-block-polystyrene (SEBS) supporting substrates. The multiscale pores of SEBS substrates, with characteristic sizes ranging from around 0.2 to 7 µm, can effectively backscatter sunlight to minimize heat absorption but are too small to reflect human-body midinfrared radiation to retain heat dissipation, thereby delivering around 6 °C cooling effects under a solar intensity of 840 W⋅m−2. Other desired properties, rooted in multiscale porous SEBS substrates, include high breathability and outstanding waterproofing. The proof-of-concept bioelectronic devices include electrophysiological sensors, temperature sensors, hydration sensors, pressure sensors, and electrical stimulators, which are made via spray printing of silver nanowires on multiscale porous SEBS substrates. The devices show comparable electrical performances with conventional, rigid, nonporous ones. Also, their applications in cuffless blood pressure measurement, interactive virtual reality, and human–machine interface are demonstrated. Notably, the enabled on-skin devices are dissolvable in several organic solvents and can be recycled to reduce electronic waste and manufacturing cost. Such on-skin electronics can serve as the basis for future multifunctional smart textiles with passive-cooling functionalities.
Footnotes
↵1Y.X., B.S., and Y. Ling contributed equally to this work.
- ↵2To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: huangg{at}missouri.edu or yanzheng{at}missouri.edu.
Author contributions: Y.X., B.S., Y. Ling, G.H., and Z.Y. designed research; Y.X., B.S., Y. Ling, Q.F., Z.C., X.L., P.G., N.J., S.G., Y. Liao, S.D., Q.Y., and J.L. performed research; Y.X. and B.S. analyzed data; and Y.X., G.H., and Z.Y. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no competing interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
This article contains supporting information online at https://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1917762116/-/DCSupplemental.
Published under the PNAS license.
Log in using your username and password
Purchase access
You may purchase access to this article. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one.
Multiscale porous elastomer substrates for multifunctional on-skin electronics with passive-cooling capabilities
Sign up for Article Alerts
Article Classifications
- Physical Sciences
- Engineering
Jump to section
- Article
- Abstract
- Synthesis of Multifunctional SEBS Substrates with Multiscale Porous Structures
- Spray Printing of Ag NWs on Prestretched Multiscale Porous SEBS Substrates
- Multimodal On-Skin Electronics Based on Multiscale Porous SEBS and Spray-Printed Ag NWs
- Demonstrations of Waterproof, Recyclability, and Cuffless Blood Pressure Measurement
- Control of a Virtual Character and a Quadcopter via Real-Time EMGs Recording
- Conclusion
- Materials and Methods
- Acknowledgments
- Footnotes
- References
- Figures & SI
- Info & Metrics
You May Also be Interested in
Coral reef bleaching frequently makes headlines, but researchers are still trying to sort out the cellular mechanisms at work.
Image credit: The Ocean Agency/XL Catlin Seaview Survey.
Greenhouse gas emissions in the first decades of the 21st century are likely to affect global sea level for centuries, and limiting long-term sea-level rise might require stringent near-term emission reductions.
Image courtesy of Lucy Reading-Ikkanda (artist).
A single formulation combining two gene therapies treated an array of age-related disorders in mice.
Image courtesy of Pixabay/Sipa.
Many ecosystems in the United States may be vulnerable to increased fire occurrence and frequency caused by invasive grasses.
Image courtesy of Pixabay/Stevepb.