Superelastic MXene/Polymer aerogels for High-Performance Battery-Type Self-Powered electronic skins

Abstract

Pressure-sensitive electronic skins have drawn great attention in the fields of smart medical care, robots, and artificial intelligence. To meet the increasing demands for miniaturization and high integration of flexible electronics and extreme pressure sensing, there is an urgent need to develop self-powered broad-range electronic skins. Here, we report unprecedented battery-type self-powered one-body pressure-sensitive stretchable electronic skins consisting of highly elastic MXene/polyurethane (PU) aerogel anode, PU/lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)/MXene cathode with microstructured surfaces, and poly (ionic liquid) ionogel electrolyte. The capability of pressure sensing of the electronic skins is achieved by the output current variation caused by resistance variation of the sensor under external pressure. The resulting electronic skins combine low detection limit (10 Pa), ultrabroad pressure detection range (10 Pa-3.2 MPa), high sensitivity, high fatigue resistance (up to 10,000 cycles under 65 kPa), wide working temperature range (−70 to 60 ℃), reversible stretchability (20 % strain), and thermal insulation. It is demonstrated that the electronic skins can be used for monitoring human body motions, physiological signals, and high pressures of tires. Besides, the electronic skins can enable the bionic hand and gripper to achieve broad-range tactile sensing under extreme environments. This work opens a new way to high-performance self-powered broad-range pressure-sensitive electronic skins.