Work

Unique nanowire assemblies enables superior anti-interference capability for accurate structural failure prediction and soft robotics

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Electronic skin (e-skin), capable of perceiving various external stimuli, has emerged as a ubiquitous technology in the field of flexible electronics, finding diverse applications in healthcare systems, prosthetics, and soft robotics. Particularly, anisotropic e-skins have garnered extensive research attention due to their unique directional properties. Nevertheless, the continuous interference from diverse stimuli and intricate environments, along with low sensitivity, have hindered the further widespread application of anisotropic e-skin. Here, we present a transparent e-skin exhibiting remarkable anisotropic strain sensing performance, along with exceptional resilience against interference from other stimuli and harsh environments. Benefiting from the synergistic coexistence of aligned silver nanowires wrinkles and cracks, the e-skin achieves outstanding anisotropy showcasing maximum strain gauge factors (GFs) difference of 2825 and 0.69 along two perpendicular directions, exceeding a difference of more than 4000 times. Furthermore, the e-skin displays superior anti-interference capability, evidenced by a resistance change of less than 6% when subjected to high pressure (663 kPa), torsion (540°), or bending (180°), and exhibits negligible performance degradation even after exposure to harsh environments. Finally, our e-skin is successfully applied to undisturbed predicting crack propagation and precise control of dual-mode soft robots, highlighting its immense potential in structural damage warning and intelligent robotics.

Source: Nano Research

DOI: 10.26599/nr.2025.94906990