Printed 2D materials make high-quality electrodes

Abstract

Using ink made of 2D materials called MXenes , researchers have made soft electrode arrays that can be used on the skin or implanted in the body ( Sci. Transl. Med. 2021, DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abf8629 ). They give better-quality signals than the metal electrodes used today, without the need for sticky conductive gels. The electrodes can be printed at low cost and could be customized for individual patients, says Flavia Vitale, a chemical engineer and neurologist at the University of Pennsylvania. MXenes, a family of 2D transition-metal carbides and nitrides, are highly conductive. Vitale and her colleagues etched electrode array patterns into a cellulose-polymer substrate, infused it with a water-based Ti 3 C 2 MXene ink, and coated the device with an insulating polymer. They used electrode arrays to record electrical activity of the hearts and brains of volunteers through the skin. The MXene electrodes produced signals with a higher signal-to-noise