A transparent, glue-free, skin-attachable graphene pressure sensor with micropillars for skin-elasticity measurement

Nanotechnology. 2019 Aug 16;30(33):335501. doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/ab1d99. Epub 2019 Apr 29.

Abstract

Strong peeling resistance and water-drainable properties on rough and wet skin surfaces are highly desirable for realizing wearable and skin-attachable electronic sensors. Here, we propose a transparent, sensitive, glue-free pressure sensor for skin electronics. To achieve a thin, light-weight, transparent, and stretchable sensor patch, we laminated a single-layer graphene film as a sensing element on a thin polymeric supporter of polydimethylsiloxane. By assembling the graphene layer with densely populated micropillars, the pressure sensor achieved 10 times the sensitivity of a similar sensor without micropillars in the low-pressure range (<6 kPa). We then employed hexagonal patterns inspired by the toe pads of a tree frog, giving the assembled patch sensor with strong peeling resistance under both dry and wet conditions on surfaces such as silicon (15.5 J cm-2 for dry and 11.6 J cm-2 for wet conditions) and pig skin (2.0 J cm-2 for dry and 1.4 J cm-2 for wet conditions) without contamination after detachment. Our layered sensor patch also demonstrated successful measurement of water-dependent skin elasticity with transparent, conformal, and residual-free attachment, suggesting a variety of cosmetic and medical applications.

MeSH terms

  • Adhesives / chemistry
  • Animals
  • Biomechanical Phenomena
  • Biosensing Techniques / instrumentation*
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes / chemistry*
  • Elasticity
  • Equipment Design
  • Graphite / chemistry*
  • Nanostructures / chemistry
  • Pressure
  • Skin Physiological Phenomena*
  • Swine
  • Wearable Electronic Devices

Substances

  • Adhesives
  • Dimethylpolysiloxanes
  • baysilon
  • Graphite