A. Mazzotta, S. Taccola, I. Cesini, M. Sanchez Sifuentes, R. A. Harris, V. Mattoli
{"title":"Low-voltage wearable tactile display with thermo-pneumatic actuation","authors":"A. Mazzotta, S. Taccola, I. Cesini, M. Sanchez Sifuentes, R. A. Harris, V. Mattoli","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00426-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00426-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Tactile displays often face challenges like high power consumption, bulky control systems, and limited portability, hindering their application in wearable technologies. This work presents a novel thermo-pneumatic tactile display that operates via localized heating of a small air volume, enabling low-voltage operation with standard batteries. Its fully portable design integrates control electronics into a wearable bracelet with Bluetooth activation, enhancing practicality. Mechanical tests demonstrated the device’s ability to generate forces exceeding 30 mN and displacements of tens of microns using pulsed signals with modulable durations and frequencies. User tests with voluntary participants confirmed its effectiveness as a tactile display, achieving 83% accuracy in recognizing Braille patterns. By addressing key limitations of traditional systems, this approach offers a promising solution for compact, low-power wearable tactile interfaces.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144645640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Highly conductive polymer with vertical phase separation for enhanced bioelectronic interfaces","authors":"Jiahuan Qiu, Yuyao Lu, Xinyuan Qian, Junxian Yao, Chengcan Han, Ziliang Wu, Hui Ye, Guorong Shan, Qiang Zheng, Kaichen Xu, Miao Du","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00441-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00441-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Conductive polymers like poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS) are key materials in bioelectronics, but balancing ultrahigh conductivity with long-term tissue contact stability remains a challenge. Here, we present a solvent-mediated solid-liquid interface doping strategy to engineer vertically phase-separated (VPS) PEDOT: PSS films. By adjusting thickness and doping solvents, a thicker PEDOT: PSS film with a strong VPS structure was achieved, featuring a higher PSS/PEDOT ratio on the surface and a lower ratio at the bottom. Doping the pristine film with a metastable liquid-liquid contact solution enables gradual PSS migration and a significant component gradient, yielding films with a hydrophilic surface and one of the highest reported conductivities ( ~ 8800 S cm<sup>−1</sup>) for bioelectronic devices. The films patterned by laser processing present high-fidelity signal acquisition, and excellent electrochemical stability. With low impedance and long-term biocompatibility, they are employed for real-time wearable and implantable sensors for electrophysiological monitoring, showcasing broad potentials in bioelectronics and human–machine interactions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144640397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Robin Kim, Yuxuan Liu, Jiaao Zhang, Chong Xie, Lan Luan
{"title":"Towards precise synthetic neural codes: high-dimensional stimulation with flexible electrodes","authors":"Robin Kim, Yuxuan Liu, Jiaao Zhang, Chong Xie, Lan Luan","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00447-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00447-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Neural representations arise from high-dimensional population activity, but current neuromodulation methods lack the precision to write information into the central nervous system at this complexity. In this perspective, we propose high-dimensional stimulation as an approach to better approximate natural neural codes for brain-machine interfaces. Key advancements in resolution, coverage, and safety are essential, with flexible microelectrode arrays offering a promising path toward precise synthetic neural codes.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144629786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kai Liu, Yifan Xu, Xiaozhu Tian, Junxuan Liang, Zhihui Zhao, Jun Wang, Ziqi Zhang, Kewei Zhang, Song Yang
{"title":"Stacking growth of ionically conductive MOF on biofabrics enables reliable NH3 sensor for hepatic encephalopathy diagnosis","authors":"Kai Liu, Yifan Xu, Xiaozhu Tian, Junxuan Liang, Zhihui Zhao, Jun Wang, Ziqi Zhang, Kewei Zhang, Song Yang","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00445-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00445-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Aiming at the poor selectivity of electrically conductive metal-organic framework (EC-MOF) chemoresistive materials, this study develops a breakthrough room temperature ammonia (NH<sub>3</sub>) sensor by stacking ionically conductive MOF (IC-MOF) on an environmentally friendly biofabric. The synergism between ionic conductivity, tailored metal-nitrogen interaction, and fabric porosity enables the sensor with high response (<i>R</i><sub><i>0</i></sub>/<i>R</i><sub><i>g</i></sub> = 14.7 towards 1 ppm NH<sub>3</sub>), low detection limit (36 ppb), and remarkable selectivity (coefficient >5.12 against common organic interferents). Notably, the optimized sensor yields a sixfold enhancement in response as compared with traditional EC-MOF powders. A linear regression model validated by fivefold cross-validation achieves 98.4% accuracy in NH<sub>3</sub> concentration prediction, while the kNN classifier shows 96% accuracy in gas identification (tested on 192 samples). Preliminary clinical tests show that the sensor can clearly differentiate the exhaled NH<sub>3</sub> signals of four patients with HE from those of healthy individuals, demonstrating the potential for non-invasive diagnostics.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144611171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Gyeongho Lee, Sunwoo Jeong, Hyeonjung Kim, Yeong Jae Kim, Seyong Oh, Junhwan Choi, Hocheon Yoo
{"title":"Photoresponsive dual-mode memory transistor for optoelectronic computing: charge storage and synaptic signal processing","authors":"Gyeongho Lee, Sunwoo Jeong, Hyeonjung Kim, Yeong Jae Kim, Seyong Oh, Junhwan Choi, Hocheon Yoo","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00444-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00444-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study presents dual-mode memory transistor that accommodates memory and synaptic operations utilizing photoinduced charge trapping at the interface between poly(1,4-butanediol diacrylate) (pBDDA) and Parylene dielectric layer. Memory characteristics were implemented based on the photoresponsivity of dinaphtho[2,3-<i>b</i>:2′,3′-<i>f</i>]thieno[3,2-<i>b</i>]thiophene (DNTT), enabling instantaneous electron storage under combined optical and electrical inputs, with retention times up to 10,000 s. Meanwhile, synaptic characteristics were induced by gradual charge trapping via optical pulse stimulation. Synaptic plasticity was confirmed via the potentiation–depression curve, emulating key features of biological nervous system, namely short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). Furthermore, the fingerprint recognition tasks highlighted identification and authentication abilities by incorporating our synaptic function into an artificial neural network (ANN). The dual-mode memory transistor, fabricated on a business card, showed excellent compatibility with flexible optoelectronics, maintaining stable memory and synaptic performance over 500 bending cycles with minimal changes in memory window, memory ratio, and potentiation–depression behavior.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"694 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144602881","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Neuromimetic circuits enabled by dynamic regulation of the electrical double layer","authors":"Xiang Li, Tinghai Cheng, Zhong Lin Wang, Di Wei","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00450-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00450-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Iontronics presents a transformative paradigm for energy and information processing via ions as active charge carriers. Here, triboiontronics is introduced, a novel strategy leveraging contact electrification to achieve dynamic regulation of electrical double layers. Inspired by signaling mechanisms of biological neural systems, triboiontronics enables enhanced ionic-electronic coupling without external power input, offering a material-independent and self-powered pathway for programmable interfacial behavior, underscoring its promise for post-Moore, energy-autonomous information technologies.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144611172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A universal method for constructing stretchable and conductive connections in flexible electronics","authors":"Yahui Zhao, Qiyang Ruan, Tongtong Li, Hongyun Qiu, Ruipeng Zhang, Shuai Wen, Lifeng Chi, Shaobo Ji","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00449-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00449-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Integrating stretchable and rigid electric units presents a significant challenge in manufacturing stretchable electronics. Their surface property differences prevented reliable stretching-tolerant connections. Here, we report a universal method to construct stretchable connections based on interfacial covalent reactions. It enables robust and conductive bonding among various soft/rigid electronics through simple surface modification and interfacial reaction. The bonding between SEBS rubber and metals reached stretchability over 250% with interfacial toughness over 200 N/m. The ultrathin connection layer provided conductive pathways, achieving an electrical stretchability of 60% between Au-deposited SEBS and Cu sheets. Connections between liquid metal-based stretchable conductors could withstand more than 10,000 stretching cycles to 60% strain while maintaining their high conductivity. The versatility and stability of this method were further proved by fabricating electronic devices that integrated soft and rigid units, including circuits on papers and a gesture-visualizing glove with LEDs, highlighting the robustness of the stretchable connections.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"82 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144586861","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natalie N. Mueller, Mali Ya Mungu Ocoko, Youjoung Kim, Kate Li, Kaela Gisser, Gabriele Glusauskas, Isabella Lugo, Peter Dernelle, Anna Clarissa Hermoso, Jaime Wang, Jonathan Duncan, Lindsey N. Druschel, Francine Graham, Jeffrey R. Capadona, Allison Hess-Dunning
{"title":"Mechanically-adaptive, resveratrol-eluting neural probes for improved intracortical recording performance and stability","authors":"Natalie N. Mueller, Mali Ya Mungu Ocoko, Youjoung Kim, Kate Li, Kaela Gisser, Gabriele Glusauskas, Isabella Lugo, Peter Dernelle, Anna Clarissa Hermoso, Jaime Wang, Jonathan Duncan, Lindsey N. Druschel, Francine Graham, Jeffrey R. Capadona, Allison Hess-Dunning","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00440-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00440-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Intracortical microelectrodes are used for recording activity from individual neurons, providing both a valuable neuroscience tool and an enabling medical technology for individuals with motor disabilities. Standard neural probes carrying the microelectrodes are rigid silicon-based structures that can penetrate the brain parenchyma to interface with the targeted neurons. Unfortunately, within weeks after implantation, neural recording quality from microelectrodes degrades, owing largely to a neuroinflammatory response. Key contributors to the neuroinflammatory response include mechanical mismatch at the device-tissue interface and oxidative stress. We developed a mechanically-adaptive, resveratrol-eluting (MARE) neural probe to mitigate both mechanical mismatch and oxidative stress and thereby promote improved neural recording quality and longevity. In this work, we demonstrate that compared to rigid silicon controls, highly-flexible MARE probes exhibit improved recording performance, more stable impedance, and a healing tissue response. With further optimization, MARE probes can serve as long-term, robust neural probes for brain-machine interface applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144594189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yong-Wu Kim, Kyung-Sub Kim, Joo-Hyeon Park, Woo-Jin Lee, Jae-Young Bae, Seung-Kyun Kang
{"title":"Fully biodegradable and mass-producible conductive fiber based on tungsten–poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) composite","authors":"Yong-Wu Kim, Kyung-Sub Kim, Joo-Hyeon Park, Woo-Jin Lee, Jae-Young Bae, Seung-Kyun Kang","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00448-x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00448-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Biodegradable electronic fibers offer high flexibility, large surface area, and spatial deformability, enabling conformal tissue contact, efficient signal acquisition, and minimal invasiveness—ideal for sustainable and transient electronics. However, previously developed biodegradable conductive fibers often suffered from incomplete degradability, limited flexibility, and scalability. Here, we introduce a biodegradable, flexible, and mass-producible fiber electrode, consisting of tungsten microparticles, a polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate matrix and a poly butanedithiol 1,3,5-triallyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-trione pentenoic anhydride coating. The dry-jet wet-spinning process ensures uniform filler dispersion and continuous fiber formation, yielding high conductivity (~2500 S m<sup>−1</sup>) over lengths exceeding 10 m. The coating provides flexibility (~38% strain) and durability against repeated deformation and laundering. We demonstrate wearable textile electronics by integrating fiber-based temperature sensors, electromyography electrodes, and a wireless coil into an arm sleeve. Finally, enzymatic and soil biodegradation tests highlight their potential as sustainable and eco-friendly disposable electronics.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"21 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144578123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sijia Xu, Ruiqi Li, Shu Tian, Junyu Yu, Chengtao An, Kai Yang, Jing Yang, Lei Zhang
{"title":"Self-healing unmanned aerial vehicle skin for icing prevention and intelligent monitoring","authors":"Sijia Xu, Ruiqi Li, Shu Tian, Junyu Yu, Chengtao An, Kai Yang, Jing Yang, Lei Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s41528-025-00434-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41528-025-00434-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In-flight icing is a common hazard in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), accounting for 25% of drone accidents due to their sensitivity to weight increase. Anti-icing technology for UAVs remains challenging because of their limited payload capacity and insufficient power to support electrothermal deicing systems. In this study, a self-healing intelligent skin was developed for small-size smart devices, such as UAVs. It provides anti-icing and icephobic capabilities in addition to real-time monitoring of in-flight icing. This skin consists of five layers, including self-healing supramolecular elastomers and electrodes, with an encapsulation layer composed of a specially designed fluoropolymer to decrease the ice nucleation temperature (−28.4 °C) and ice adhesion strength (33.0 kPa). Notably, this skin can monitor ice accretion on the UAV surface in real time, and its sensing performance undergoes complete self-recovery after damage. This study paves the way for intelligent UAVs to operate safely under extreme weather conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":48528,"journal":{"name":"npj Flexible Electronics","volume":"686 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":14.6,"publicationDate":"2025-07-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144566123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}