3D printing of self-healing longevous multi-sensory e-skin
Electrically conductive hydrogels can simulate the sensory capabilities of natural skin, such that they are well-suited for electronic skin. Unfortunately, currently available electronic skin cannot detect multiple stimuli in a selective manner. Inspired by the deep eutectic solvent chemistry of the frog Lithobates Sylvaticus, we introduce a double network granular organogel capable of simultaneously detecting mechanical deformation, structural damage, changes in ambient temperature, and humidity. The deep eutectic solvent chemistry adds an additional benefit: Thanks to strong hydrogen bonding, our sensor can recover 97% of the Young's modulus after being damaged. The sensing performance and self-healing capacity are maintained within a temperature range of -20 °C to 50 °C for at least 2 weeks. We exploit the granular nature of this system to direct ink to write a cm-sized frog and e-skin wearables. We realize selective tactile perception by training recurrent neural networks to achieve sensory stimulus classification between the temperature and strain with 98% accuracy.
Authors
- Josie Hughes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8410-3565)
- Esther Amstad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9491-1010)
- Sudong Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8928-6070)
- Antonia Georgopoulou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9892-250X)
- Francesca Bono
- Benhui Dai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1626-0128)
Institutions
- University of Fribourg (CH)
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Materials
- Published
- 2025-06-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00839-7
- Citations
- 7
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.72
Funders
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung