Electrospinning Will Be The Key Technology Of Wearable Device Manufacturing

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Electrospun nanofibers have more advantages than traditional materials in the development of wearable devices.

Electrospinning is a kind of technology to prepare nanofibers with adjustable properties from polymer substrates. Researchers at Tufts University have made new progress in the development of wearable electronic devices and systems using the technology, according to the latest paper in APL bioengineering published by the American Physical Federation on 28.

In their latest research, they have demonstrated many advantages of electrospinning materials. Their high surface area to volume ratio makes them have higher porosity and air permeability, which is very important for long-term wear. In addition, they can achieve excellent biocompatibility through proper polymer mixing. Conductive electrospinning nanofibers provide high surface area electrodes for flexibility and performance improvements, including fast charging and high energy storage capacity.

"Their nanoscale properties mean that they attach well to the skin without the need for a chemical adhesive, which is important if you're interested in measuring bioelectrical potentials, such as using electrocardiograms to measure heart activity or electroencephalography to measure large brain activity," said author Samir sankusel

Electrospinning is much cheaper and more user-friendly than photolithography in achieving nanoscale transistor morphology with excellent electron transport.

In recent years, wearable technology presents an explosive development trend. Driven by the progress of flexible sensors, transistors, energy storage and acquisition devices, wearable devices include micro electronic devices directly worn on human skin, which are used to sense a series of biophysical and biochemical signals, or provide a convenient human-computer interface like smart watches.

It is difficult to design Wearable devices for optimal skin compliance, air permeability and biocompatibility without affecting the adjustability of their mechanical, electrical and chemical properties. The emergence of electrospinning is an exciting development in this field.

Sangcuse said that they have applied electrospinning technology to physical activity monitoring, motion tracking, biological potential measurement, chemical and biological sensing.

Researchers believe that in the next few years, electrospinning technology will become a multi-functional, feasible and inexpensive wearable device manufacturing key technology. They pointed out that there are still some areas that need to be improved, including expanding the selection range of materials and improving the convenience of combining with human physiology. The researchers suggest that wearable devices can be made "almost invisible" by designing them smaller or by adding transparent materials.