Versatile Electronic Skins with Biomimetic Micronanostructures Fabricated Using Natural Reed Leaves as Templates.

Abstract

Versatile electronic skin devices that enable detection of multimodal signals have revealed great potential for human health monitoring. To make a versatile electronic skin, hierarchical micronanostructures are essential to obtain improved sensing performance and multisignal detection capability. However, current strategies for developing a nanostructured electronic skin usually involve complex procedures, harsh experimental conditions, and the use of expensive equipment, which limit its practical applications. In this paper, we reported the fabrication of a multifunctional wearable electronic skin with hierarchical micronanostructures by using natural reed leaves as templates. The capacitive-type electronic skin is fabricated by double-sided coating of Au electrodes on an artificial polydimethylsiloxane reed leaf that is duplicated from natural reed leaves via soft lithography. The electronic skin features a very simple device structure yet high sensing performance. It permits multimodal signal detection, including that of pressure, deformation, and proximity, and can serve as surface-enhanced Raman scattering substrates for the detection of metabolites in sweat because of the formation of plasmonic structures. The versatile electronic skin can be attached to the human skin, and it enables effective monitoring of multiphysiological signals, revealing great potential for cutting-edge applications, such as human health monitoring.