Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Minji Kang, Tae-Wook Kim
Summary: Significant progress has been made in recent years in developing the geometry and composition of electronic fibers. Various structural designs of electronic fibers and their applications in energy harvesting/storage, sensing, and light-emitting devices demonstrate their high potential for future electronic applications.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jiajun Song, Hong Liu, Zeyu Zhao, Peng Lin, Feng Yan
Summary: Flexible and stretchable biosensors are increasingly utilized for acquiring high-fidelity signals in emerging applications. Organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) are ideal candidates for flexible and stretchable biosensing due to their soft nature, amplification function, biocompatibility, functionalization ease, low cost, and device diversity. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the advancements in flexible-OTFT-based biosensors, discussing their features, functionalization strategies, applications in wearable, implantable, and portable electronics, as well as neuromorphic biointerfaces. Special attention is given to emerging stretchable organic transistors and their engineering routes for achieving stretchability, along with their implementations in e-skin and smart textiles. The remaining challenges and future opportunities in this field are also summarized.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Zhengyou Zhu, Congcong Liu, Fengxing Jiang, Jing Liu, Guoqiang Liu, Xiumei Ma, Peipei Liu, Rui Huang, Jingkun Xu, Lei Wang
Summary: A novel fiber-shaped hydrogen sensor with excellent mechanical properties and sensing performance has been developed in this study, showing potential for wearable sensor devices and providing a smart sensor design strategy for the development of wearable electronics.
JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xingxian Lan, Taijin Tang, Huarui Xie, Syed Waqar Hasan, Lizhe Liang, Zhi Qun Tian, Pei Kang Shen
Summary: Flexible power sources are crucial for the widespread use of portable and wearable electronics. This study presents a facile and general method for fabricating fibrous electrodes, which bridges the gap between materials and fiber-shaped electrodes for flexible energy storage devices.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Shuo Wang, Qiuchen Xu, Hao Sun
Summary: The review focuses on the recent advances of functional fiber devices and discusses the challenges and opportunities in the field, proposing future directions for the functionalization of fiber electronics.
ADVANCED FIBER MATERIALS
(2022)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Qiang Gao, Seema Agarwal, Andreas Greiner, Ting Zhang
Summary: This article provides a comprehensive review of electrospun fiber-based flexible electronics, including the diversity of electrospun fibers, integration strategies, and various sensing platforms. These sensors, with advantages such as flexibility, robustness, high porosity, diverse fiber morphology, and low cost, play an increasingly significant role in daily life for individual healthcare monitoring and tissue regeneration.
PROGRESS IN MATERIALS SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Michael Lerond, A. Mohan Raj, Veronica Wu, W. G. Skene, Fabio Cicoira
Summary: Stretchable electrochromic devices were fabricated using electrospun PEDOT:PSS fibers, replacing the conventional ITO-glass electrodes. The devices could be stretched and bent, with improved color switching and contrast during operation.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hengyi Li, Ruixiang Qu, Zhijun Ma, Ningjing Zhou, Qiyao Huang, Zijian Zheng
Summary: A continuous fabrication strategy for constructing permeable and super-stretchable liquid metal fibers has been developed, enabling the integration of high-density and multifunctional electronic fibers. By combining self-assembled porous elastomer fibers with multilayers of coaxially arranged liquid metal circuits, effective materials and energy exchange between the fiber and the surrounding environment is achieved. Proof-of-concept demonstrations of a stretchable multifunctional electronic fiber and an artificial neuron with multi-modal sensing and electrical signal transmission capabilities illustrate the potential of this fiber fabrication strategy for stretchable electronics applications.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Haomin Wang, Shuo Li, Haojie Lu, Mengjia Zhu, Huarun Liang, Xunen Wu, Yingying Zhang
Summary: Traditional public health systems lack comprehensive, timely, and efficient medical services. The demand for convenient and comprehensive health monitoring has been growing. The development of flexible and wearable devices using carbon materials has gained wide attention for their potential applications in monitoring and caring for human health. In this review, the latest advances in the design and fabrication of carbon materials for health-related flexible and wearable electronics are discussed. The fabrication strategies, working mechanism, performance, and applications of carbon-based flexible devices, including sensors and conductive wires/electrodes, are reviewed. The integration of multiple carbon-based devices into multifunctional wearable systems is also explored. Challenges and future opportunities in this field are proposed.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Wendong Yang, Haoqiang Sun, Zihao Guo, Xun Zhao
Summary: Flexible antennas based on printed flexible electronic technology are important for wireless communication systems due to their advantages over traditional rigid-based antennas. This study focuses on the use of printable silver nanoparticle-based ink to rapidly fabricate a bendable and triple-notch antenna for ultrawideband (UWB) communication systems. The antenna shows good UWB and triple-notch performance even after bending and exhibits desired notch characteristics. This research provides a design guide for flexible antennas with notch features for flexible and wearable electronics.
ACS APPLIED NANO MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jingjie Du, Botao Zhang, Meng Jiang, Qihao Zhang, Keyi Zhang, Yan Liu, Lianjun Wang, Wan Jiang
Summary: The development of flexible thermoelectric devices presents exciting opportunities for wearable applications in various fields. However, scaling up nanotechnology-enabled thermoelectric materials and reducing manufacturing costs remain challenging. This study introduces an inkjet printing method to fabricate high-performance flexible thermoelectric devices. The use of a templated-directed chemical transformation process allows the synthesis of metal chalcogenide nanowires, which are turned into printable inks. The resulting inkjet-printed flexible films and devices show significantly improved performance compared to state-of-the-art inkjet-printed thermoelectrics, indicating the potential of this printing platform for scalable manufacturing of next-generation flexible thermoelectric devices.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
ChiCuong Vu, TranThuyNga Truong, Jooyong Kim
Summary: Flexible electronics, a branch of wearable electronics, has attracted extensive research attention for its wide range of applications. However, signal acquisition, processing, and noise suppression remain challenging. Researchers have developed new materials and geometrical designs to optimize the performance of flexible electronics. This paper selectively reviews the progress in flexible electronic development over the past two years from the perspectives of materials and fractal structures, and analyzes the significance of fractal structures for devices and applications. The challenges and opportunities of fractal designs for future research are also summarized.
MATERIALS TODAY PHYSICS
(2022)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Qiang Gao, Fuqin Sun, Yue Li, Lianhui Li, Mengyuan Liu, Shuqi Wang, Yongfeng Wang, Tie Li, Lin Liu, Simin Feng, Xiaowei Wang, Seema Agarwal, Ting Zhang
Summary: This article reports a biological tissue-inspired ultrasoft microfiber composite ultrathin (< 5 mu m) hydrogel film, which is currently the thinnest hydrogel film as far as we know. The embedded microfibers endow the composite hydrogel with prominent mechanical strength and anti-tearing property. Moreover, the microfiber composite hydrogel offers the capability of tunable mechanical properties in a broad range, allowing for matching the modulus of most biological tissues and organs. The incorporation of glycerol and salt ions imparts the microfiber composite hydrogel with high ionic conductivity and prominent anti-dehydration behavior. These microfiber composite hydrogels are promising for constructing attaching-type flexible bioelectronics to monitor biosignals.
NANO-MICRO LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Zeng Fan, Yaoyun Zhang, Lujun Pan, Jianyong Ouyang, Qian Zhang
Summary: Research on flexible TE technologies has expanded to include novel applications beyond electronic FTE materials and FTEGs. These applications include self-powered multifunctional sensors, ionic TE devices, multi-technology integrated TE devices, and evaporation-driven nanogenerators. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent advances in FTE-related technologies, covering materials, devices, manufacturing strategies, and real performance examples.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Abbas Ahmed, Sudeep Sharma, Bapan Adak, Md Milon Hossain, Anna Marie LaChance, Samrat Mukhopadhyay, Luyi Sun
Summary: This article reviews the latest developments in MXene-enabled flexible electronics for wearable electronics, highlighting several nanoscale MXene-enabled electronic devices and their applications in healthcare, energy, electromagnetic interference shielding, and humanoid control of machines.
Review
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Zicheng Li, Bolong Zhang, Zhihao Zhang, Jean-Claude Buenzli, Abd Rashid bin Mohd Yusoff, Yong-Young Noh, Peng Gao
Summary: Metal-halide perovskites-based optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells and LEDs, have become direct competitors to established technologies due to their cost-effectiveness. However, their development is still limited by narrow absorption band, low charge carrier mobility, energy level mismatching, and poor stability. Lanthanides have been applied to overcome these limitations. This article provides a review of the history and recent developments in lanthanide materials for perovskite optoelectronic devices.
MATERIALS SCIENCE & ENGINEERING R-REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wu Zhang, Haizeng Li, Abdulhakem Y. Elezzabi
Summary: The first dual-mode electrochromic platform with self-coloring and self-bleaching characteristics is reported. By sandwiching zinc metal within a newly-designed electrochromic device, the platform exhibits four distinct optical states with high contrast and fast switching times. The platform has potential applications in self-powered smart windows, colorful displays, optoelectronic switches, and optical sensors.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Ria Kunwar, Bhupender Pal, Izan Izwan Misnon, Hamdan Daniyal, Fatemeh Zabihi, Shengyuan Yang, Zdenek Sofer, Chun-Chen Yang, Rajan Jose
Summary: A simple protocol is presented to characterize EDLCs using self-discharge data and a three-branch electrical model. The method estimates the parametric values in the model based on recorded self-discharge data and experiments with carbon and metal oxide electrodes in three choice electrolytes. The model enables determination of charge storage parameters and capacitive nature of the device from a single self-discharge data.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Vikas Menon, Swati Sharma, Shreya Gupta, Anujit Ghosal, Ashok Kumar Nadda, Rajan Jose, Pooja Sharma, Sunil Kumar, Pardeep Singh, Pankaj Raizada
Summary: Synthetic plastics were invented for human convenience due to their lightweight, durability, elasticity, moldability, affordability, and hydrophobicity. However, their non-biodegradability and accumulation pose significant threats to the environment and living beings. Microplastics of various types are entering water bodies and food chains, causing harm to organisms and inducing inflammation, metabolism disturbance, and necrosis in cells and tissues. This review discusses the generation routes, impacts, identification, and treatment of microplastics and highlights potential detection techniques for microplastics in water samples.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Feifei Zhao, Bin Wang, Wu Zhang, Sheng Cao, Linhua Liu, Abdulhakem Y. Elezzabi, Haizeng Li, William W. Yu
Summary: This review focuses on the integration of electrochromism and energy storage functionalities within a single device. The contradictory nature of these functions in conventional electrochromic devices is discussed. The current status, applications and future trends of electrochromic energy storage devices (EESDs) are reviewed. Additionally, a design strategy using zinc anodes for overcoming the contradiction between electrochromism and energy storage is proposed.
Review
Energy & Fuels
Gayathry Ganesh, Amina Yasin, Izan Izwan Misnon, Azhar Fakharuddin, Lukas Schmidt-Mende, Mohd Hasbi Ab Rahim, Sabu Thomas, Rajan Jose
Summary: Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have shown great potential in improving the renewable energy mix, but their poor operational stability hampers their market potential. This article reviews the use of polymers as a remedy to enhance stability and improve the performance of PSCs. The synergistic interactions between polymers and perovskite materials are analyzed, and the importance of polymers in various layers of the solar cells is discussed, particularly in terms of stability.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Aleksandra Furasova, Maria Baeva, Alexey Mozharov, Pavel Tonkaev, Sergey Raudik, Vladimir Neplokh, Vladimir Fedorov, Francesco Di Giacomo, Ivan Mukhin, Sergey Makarov, Aldo Di Carlo
Summary: In this work, GaP nanomaterials are incorporated into perovskite solar cells to improve charge extraction without changing the cell thickness, resulting in an efficiency enhancement of up to 18.8% for MAPbI3 perovskite solar cells. The multiphysical theoretical simulations provide insights into the mechanism of charge extraction and optical absorption improvement in solar cells with incorporated GaP nanowires. This developed method can be applied to various thin-film solar cells and other optoelectronic devices.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tianyi Zhang, Louis Conrad Winkler, Jakob Wolansky, Jonas Schroeder, Karl Leo, Johannes Benduhn
Summary: This study demonstrates a narrowband blue organic photodetector by exploiting the dual role of the hole-transporting layer. The new device exhibits high external quantum efficiency, ultralow dark current, and high specific detectivity, showing great potential for practical applications.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Review
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Baodan Zhao, Maria Vasilopoulou, Azhar Fakharuddin, Feng Gao, Abd. Rashid Bin Mohd Yusoff, Richard H. Friend, Dawei Di
Summary: Perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have shown great potential for display and lighting applications with external quantum efficiencies exceeding 20% for various colors. However, the majority of internally generated photons are trapped in the devices and lose energy through lossy channels, suggesting the need for effective light management strategies. By analyzing the intrinsic optical properties of perovskite materials and the extrinsic properties related to device structures, this Review highlights the possibility of substantially exceeding the conventional limits of planar organic LED devices and suggests new approaches for achieving ultrahigh efficiencies in perovskite LEDs.
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Anastasia Soultati, Maria Verouti, Ermioni Polydorou, Konstantina-Kalliopi Armadorou, Zoi Georgiopoulou, Leonidas C. Palilis, Ioannis Karatasios, Vassilis Kilikoglou, Alexander Chroneos, Athanassios G. Coutsolelos, Panagiotis Argitis, Maria Vasilopoulou
Summary: Two gallium porphyrins were synthesized and used as an electron cascade in ternary organic bulk heterojunction films. The energy levels of the gallium porphyrins matched well with those of the polymer donor and fullerene acceptor, forming an efficient cascade system. The ternary organic solar cells using the gallium porphyrins showed enhanced efficiency, except at high concentrations where the nanomorphology of the films was affected. The best performing devices also exhibited improved photostability.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Ammaiyappan Anbunathan, Chelladurai Karuppiah, Jeng-Kuei Chang, Rajan Jose, Chun-Chen Yang
Summary: The recent research focus in lithium-sulfur batteries is on the sulfurized polyacrylonitrile (SPAN) cathode, which has an efficient polysulfide shuttle effect and improves battery efficiency. In order to enhance the electrochemical performance and kinetic characteristics of the SPAN cathode, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), specifically ZIF67 nanoparticles, are grown in situ onto a high-density glass fiber (GF) separator. This improves Li+ transport properties and overall electrochemical performance of the Li-SPAN battery.
ACS APPLIED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jianwei Hu, Yingxin Zhang, Bing Xu, Yujia Ouyang, Yu Ma, Huanlei Wang, Jingwei Chen, Haizeng Li
Summary: In this study, a hydrophobic CuZn5 alloy coating was applied to improve the reversibility and stability of the zinc anode, resulting in enhanced switching kinetics and cycling stability in electrochromic devices.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Bing Xu, Jingwei Chen, Ping Li, Yujia Ouyang, Yu Ma, Huanlei Wang, Haizeng Li
Summary: This study incorporated a transparent metal oxide interlayer (NiO nanosheets) to enhance the stability and capacity of electrochromic Prussian blue (PB) cathodes, resulting in enlarged optical modulation, accelerated switching kinetics, and improved coloration efficiency. The NiO/PB nanocomposite film exhibited a high areal capacity, excellent electrochemical stability, and surpassed the performance of the bare PB film. Furthermore, a zinc anode-based electrochromic device assembled with the NiO/PB nanocomposite film demonstrated a self-bleaching function and retained a large optical modulation after 1000 cycles, showcasing its potential for high-performance applications.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Akbar Ali Qureshi, Emilia R. Schuetz, Sofia Javed, Lukas Schmidt-Mende, Azhar Fakharuddin
Summary: This study reports a metal halide perovskite solar cell (PSC) with a bilayer structure of Fe3O4/spiro-OMeTAD as the hole transport layer (HTL). The bilayer HTL not only improves the device performance, but also enhances the stability of the PSCs during storage.