Stiffness‐Switchable Conductive Nanocomposites with Temperature‐Invariant Conductivity for Long‐Term Brain‐Computer Interfaces on Hair‐Covered Scalp

ABSTRACT Reliable neural recording on densely hair‐covered scalp remains challenging due to the incompatibility between efficient hair penetration, conformal skin contact, and low‐impedance electrical interfacing. Here, we report a claw‐shaped dry electrode that integrates thermoresponsive phase‐transition networks for reversible stiffness switching, with temperature‐invariant conductivity enabled by crystallization‐induced confinement, achieving comfortable, low‐impedance neural interfacing on densely hair‐covered scalps. The electrode comprises a bottlebrush polymer/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composite, in which crystallizable alkyl side chains act as switching units, enabling rigid hair penetration at ambient conditions and compliant, adhesive scalp interfacing at skin temperature. Importantly, side‐chain crystallization imposes spatial confinement on MWCNTs, enabling efficient percolated networks with an ultralow percolation threshold (0.47 wt.%) and high electrical conductivity (1.8 S m −1 ). Meanwhile, strong MWCNTs‐polymer interfacial interactions provide multipoint anchoring that helps preserve conductive pathway continuity across phase transitions, achieving low electrode‐scalp impedance (∼38 kΩ) upon softening and conformal contact. Validated by steady‐state visual evoked potential measurements, this electrode enables high‐fidelity and frequency‐resolved neural signal acquisition and maintains stable operation for over 100 days, supporting a fully wearable brain‐computer interface with real‐time drone control.

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Publication Details

Journal
Small
Published
2026-05-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.73966
Primary Topic
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Stiffness‐Switchable Conductive Nanocomposites with Temperature‐Invariant Conductivity for Long‐Term Brain‐Computer Interfaces on Hair‐Covered Scalp

Chenxi Song, Y Li, Teng Gao, Guilin Bai et al.
Small
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
article

Stiffness‐Switchable Conductive Nanocomposites with Temperature‐Invariant Conductivity for Long‐Term Brain‐Computer Interfaces on Hair‐Covered Scalp

Chenxi Song, Y Li, Teng Gao, Guilin Bai, Jiangtao Li, Tao Song, Bo Shi, Beibei Shao, Tianyu Lan, Baoquan Sun
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Reliable neural recording on densely hair‐covered scalp remains challenging due to the incompatibility between efficient hair penetration, conformal skin contact, and low‐impedance electrical interfacing. Here, we report a claw‐shaped dry electrode that integrates thermoresponsive phase‐transition networks for reversible stiffness switching, with temperature‐invariant conductivity enabled by crystallization‐induced confinement, achieving comfortable, low‐impedance neural interfacing on densely hair‐covered scalps. The electrode comprises a bottlebrush polymer/multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composite, in which crystallizable alkyl side chains act as switching units, enabling rigid hair penetration at ambient conditions and compliant, adhesive scalp interfacing at skin temperature. Importantly, side‐chain crystallization imposes spatial confinement on MWCNTs, enabling efficient percolated networks with an ultralow percolation threshold (0.47 wt.%) and high electrical conductivity (1.8 S m −1 ). Meanwhile, strong MWCNTs‐polymer interfacial interactions provide multipoint anchoring that helps preserve conductive pathway continuity across phase transitions, achieving low electrode‐scalp impedance (∼38 kΩ) upon softening and conformal contact. Validated by steady‐state visual evoked potential measurements, this electrode enables high‐fidelity and frequency‐resolved neural signal acquisition and maintains stable operation for over 100 days, supporting a fully wearable brain‐computer interface with real‐time drone control.

Small
Macau University of Science and Technology (MO), Soochow University (CN)
National Natural Science Foundation of China, Collaborative Innovation Center of Suzhou Nano Science and Technology
Openalex Percentile: Top 10%
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
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