Abstract
Lightweight nano/microscale wearable devices that are directly attached to or worn on the human body require enhanced flexibility so that they can facilitate body movement and overall improved wearability. In the present study, a flexible poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) fiber-based sensor is proposed, which can accurately measure the amount of salt (i.e., sodium chloride) ions in sweat released from the human body or in specific solutions. This can be performed using one single strand of hair-like conducting polymer fiber. The fabrication process involves the introduction of an aqueous PEDOT:PSS solution into a sulfuric acid coagulation bath. This is a repeatable and inexpensive process for producing monolithic fibers, with a simple geometry and tunable electrical characteristics, easily woven into clothing fabrics or wristbands. The conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS fiber increases in pure water, whereas it decreases in sweat. In particular, the conductivity of a PEDOT:PSS fiber changes linearly according to the concentration of sodium chloride in liquid. The results of our study suggest the possibility of PEDOT:PSS fiber-based wearable sensors serving as the foundation of future research and development in skin-attachable next-generation healthcare devices, which can reproducibly determine the physiological condition of a human subject by measuring the sodium chloride concentration in sweat.
Highlights
Lightweight nano/microscale wearable devices that are directly attached to or worn on the human body require enhanced flexibility so that they can facilitate body movement and overall improved wearability
As the concentration of sulfuric acid increases, the stiffness and the elongation of the PEDOT:PSS fiber increases and decreases, respectively, indicating that the rigid property of the PEDOT oligomer by the strong π-π stacking nature is more expressed than the coil-like property of the PSS at the high concentration of sulfuric acid
No mechanical damage appeared on the fiber surface. This indicates that the PEDOT:PSS fibers prepared in this study are suitable for application in wearable devices
Summary
Lightweight nano/microscale wearable devices that are directly attached to or worn on the human body require enhanced flexibility so that they can facilitate body movement and overall improved wearability. A flexible poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfon ate) (PEDOT:PSS) fiber-based sensor is proposed, which can accurately measure the amount of salt (i.e., sodium chloride) ions in sweat released from the human body or in specific solutions. This can be performed using one single strand of hair-like conducting polymer fiber. The results of our study suggest the possibility of PEDOT:PSS fiber-based wearable sensors serving as the foundation of future research and development in skin-attachable next-generation healthcare devices, which can reproducibly determine the physiological condition of a human subject by measuring the sodium chloride concentration in sweat. A simple but robust wearable sensor based on a flexible PEDOT:PSS fiber was proposed to detect the salt concentration in the sweat directly discharged from human body
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