Soft Conductive Interfacing for Bioelectrical Uses: Adhesion Mechanisms and Structural Approaches

Abstract

Soft conductors are critical components in soft electronic devices. As soft conductors are applied in high-profit applications in bioelectronics to be attached to the skin and internal organs, controllable adhesion is required for their long-term stable operation. Thus, the production of practical soft conductive interfacing materials and their applications have been intensively studied. This perspective defined soft conductive interfacing as a stable attachment of deformable conductors to target surfaces (e.g., skin, organs, and device parts). This review briefly reviewed various adhesion mechanisms and introduced three structural approaches to creating conductive interfacing (uniform monolayer, patterned multilayer, and porous conductive meshes). The applications of soft conductive interfacing were represented in three types of interfaces (skin-to-conductor, organ-to-conductor, and device-to-device interfaces). The outlook of this article discusses the technological challenges of soft conductive interfacing and suggests their new functionalities.