Electrospinner: Flexible hydrovoltaic ion sensing based on silk fibroin-regulated nanochannels

Background

Researcher Zhang Ting's team proposed a controllable nanochannel regulation strategy. By repeatedly dipping silk fibroin (SF) on electrospun nylon-66 nanofiber (NNF) films, the team achieved surface polarity enhancement, precise fiber size control (accuracy of about 25 nm) and a strong combination of nanostructures.

Development of high-performance ion sensors

The flexible stand-alone hydrovoltaic device prepared by the above method exhibited an open circuit voltage of up to 4.82 V, a wide ion sensing range (10^-7 to 1 M), and an ultra-high sensitivity of up to 1.37 V/decade of concentration change in deionized water, which is significantly higher than the sensitivity of traditional solid contact ion selective electrodes (SC-ISEs).

Combination of electrospinning and hydrovoltaic effect

The combination of nylon-66 nanofiber membrane prepared by electrospinning technology and silk fibroin not only enhances the surface polarity, but also realizes high-performance hydrovoltaic ion sensors by regulating the structure of nanochannels, which has important application potential in the field of ion sensing.

Wearable sweat sensing and environmental monitoring

The prepared flexible ion-sensitive hydrovoltaic device was successfully applied to wearable human sweat electrolyte sensing and environmental trace ion monitoring, verifying the potential application of the hydrovoltaic effect in ion sensing.

Precise regulation of nanochannel size and surface properties

By regulating the amount of silk protein dip-coating, the research team obtained the optimal balance between solution flow rate and ion selectivity in the nanochannel, achieved a maximum open circuit voltage of 4.82 V, and showed ultra-high sensitivity to ion concentration in the solution (maximum sensitivity ~1.37 V dec^-1).

Morphology and function of hydrovoltaic devices

The hydrovoltaic device not only exhibits high sensitivity and wide response range sensing characteristics for ions, but also has rich morphology based on this effect, and the size and modulus can be adjusted, which is very suitable for wearable sweat electrolyte detection, and can provide reliable data support for sports health and disease rehabilitation.

Electrospinning Nanofibers Article Source:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtbio.2024.100962