Electrospining Machine: Electrospun nanofibers as stretchable sensors for wearable devices

Views: 463 Author: Nanofiberlabs Publish Time: 2024-12-03 Origin: wearable devices

Background

 

With the development of human-computer interaction and the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable devices can easily and non-invasively collect physiological data signals to provide sufficient information for health monitoring. Traditional sensors are limited by rigidity, poor adaptability and signaling capabilities, thus limiting their development in emerging fields.

 

The main point of this paper

 

 

Advantages of flexible sensors:

 

Compatible with movable parts or curved surfaces to detect physiological and environmental indicators in real time.

 

Flexible Sensor Design:

 

Combines rigid conductive inorganic materials with soft substrates that are stretchable.

 

Properties of an Ideal Flexible Sensor:

 

Excellent flexibility, stretchability, and sensitivity to detect a wide range of strains and discriminate human motion.

 

Importance of micro/nanostructures:

 

Special structures such as microcracks, serpentine structures, etc., modulate sensor performance.

 

Nanofiber-based smart sensors:

 

Same sensing and wearable properties as regular textiles.

 

Nanofiber Manufacturing Technologies:

 

Thermal stretching techniques, template synthesis, hydrothermal and electrospinning.

 

Advantages of electrospinning technology:

 

Versatile, easy to operate, adjustable and suitable for mass production.


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Electrospinning technology in wearable devices: progress from conductive nanofibers to flexible sensors

 

Demand for wearable devices:

 

Wearable devices are attracting attention in the fields of smart medicine, e-skin, and AI robotics, requiring flexible sensors with good skin compliance, breathability, and biocompatibility

 

Limitations of conventional sensors:

 

Conventional sensors based on rigid materials limit stretchability and breathability due to multilayer structural assemblies and dense substrates, affecting their applications

 

Advantages of electrospinning technology:

 

Nanofibers prepared by electrospinning technology have a high surface area to volume ratio, providing higher porosity and breathability, which is important for long-term wearability

 

Applications of conductive nanofibers:

 

Conductive electrostatically spun nanofibers provide high surface area electrodes for flexibility and performance improvements, including fast charging and high energy storage capacity

 

Electrospinning Technology Preparation Methods:

 

Electrospinning technology controls the morphology, length, diameter and porosity of nanofibers by adjusting the spinning solution composition, spinning process parameters, voltage, humidity and distance

 

Application of electrospinning technology in biopharmaceutical delivery:

 

Electrospinning technology has a wide range of applications in biopharmaceutical delivery systems, including wound dressings, ocular delivery, transdermal delivery, vaginal delivery and oral targeting.

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Summarize

 

This perspective discusses representative advances in electrospun nanofibers as flexible sensors for wearable devices. It is shown that electrospun elastic nanofibers (e.g., thermoplastic polyurethane and nylon) are ideal substrates with excellent stretchability. By constructing continuous conductive channels, they can be used as satisfactory stretchable sensors. Nanofiber hydrogels with high water content have excellent fatigue resistance, making them ideal for long-term wearable devices. Nanofibers have a variety of microstructures with fascinating properties and can be made into multifunctional conductors. In addition, the structural design is an effective mode for improving sensing properties such as sensitivity and selectivity. The layered structure, high specific surface area and porosity of conductive electrospun nanofibers facilitate gas diffusion and carrier immobilization, which is beneficial for biosensors, strain/stress sensors and TENG. electrospun nanofibers show great potential for future wearable devices!


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