J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2019, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (10): 2187-2193.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2019.05.038

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A self-powered temperature-sensitive electronic-skin based on tribotronic effect of PDMS/PANI nanostructures

Zize Liuab, Tianming Zhaoab, Hongye Guanab, Tianyan Zhongab, Haoxuan Heab, Lili Xinga*(), Xinyu Xueab*()   

  1. a School of Physics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
    b College of Sciences, Northeastern University, Shenyang 110004, China
  • Received:2019-01-21 Revised:2019-03-09 Accepted:2019-04-03 Online:2019-10-05 Published:2019-08-28
  • Contact: Xing Lili,Xue Xinyu

Abstract:

A new self-powered temperature-sensitive electronic-skin (e-skin) for real-time monitoring body temperature without external electricity power was fabricated from patterned polydimethylsiloxane/polyaniline (PDMS/PANI) nanostructures. The e-skin can be feasibly attached on the human body and driven by the mechanical motion energy through triboelectric effect. The outputting triboelectric impulse of the PDMS/PANI units is significantly dependent on the local surface temperature of the e-skin, serving as both the power source and temperature sensing signal. The outputting current of the e-skin increases with increasing surface temperature of the device. Under applied bending deformation, the response of the e-skin is up to 63.6 for 38.6 °C. The e-skin can detect minimum temperature change of 0.4 °C. The working mechanism can be ascribed to the coupling effect of triboelectric and semiconductor properties (tribotronic effect). A practical application of the e-skin attaching on the human body for detecting the body temperature range of 36.5-42.0 °C has been simply demonstrated. This work provides a viable method for real-time monitoring body temperature, and can promote the development of wearable temperature sensors and self-powered multifunctional nanosystems.

Key words: Self-powered, Temperature sensing, Tribotronic effect, Polymer, Triboelectric nanogenerator