Soft sciencePub Date : 2024-01-04DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.32
Lun Ma, E. Amador, George S. Belev, Chhabindra Gautam, Weidong Zhou, J. P. Liu, R. Sammynaiken, Wei Chen
{"title":"Tuning Ag+ and Mn2+ doping in ZnS:Ag,Mn embedded polymers for flexible white light emitting films","authors":"Lun Ma, E. Amador, George S. Belev, Chhabindra Gautam, Weidong Zhou, J. P. Liu, R. Sammynaiken, Wei Chen","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.32","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.32","url":null,"abstract":"Flexible Light Emitting Diodes are versatile lighting solutions that offer bendable and adaptable illumination possibilities. A soft, flexible white luminescent film (1 mm) shows promise for foldable electroluminescent devices and applications. This film was fabricated using ZnS:Ag and Mn. Under different excitation wavelengths, the phosphors emit blue light due to Ag+ luminescence centers and red light from the d-d transition of Mn2+. The blue emission is greatly suppressed at high Mn2+ doping levels, requiring reduced Ag+ doping in co-doped ZnS:Ag,Mn compared to solo-doped ZnS:Ag samples. By adjusting Ag+ and Mn2+ concentrations, the ZnS:Ag(1%),Mn(0.2%) phosphors show a proper intensity ratio of blue and red emissions, making them a promising candidate for future white light applications.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"4 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139384362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft sciencePub Date : 2024-01-04DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.35
Feifan Sheng, Cheng Zhao, Bo Zhang, Yingxue Tan, Kai Dong
{"title":"Flourishing electronic textiles towards pervasive, personalized and intelligent healthcare","authors":"Feifan Sheng, Cheng Zhao, Bo Zhang, Yingxue Tan, Kai Dong","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.35","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.35","url":null,"abstract":"In the face of pandemic infectious diseases and increasing aging trends, traditional public health systems lack the capacity for real-time monitoring, immediate clinical detection, continuous vital sign monitoring, and the implementation of long-cycle treatment protocols, among other deficiencies. On the basis of the rapid development of wearable electronic devices, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, the future healthcare model will transform from a therapeutic, centralized, passive, and even one-size-fits-all treatment to a new paradigm of proactive, preventive, personalized, customized, and intelligent way. The development of wearable electronics has facilitated the evolution of healthcare from healthcare to biological monitoring, enabling continuous monitoring of critical biomarkers for diagnostic treatment, physiological health monitoring, and assessment. Electronic textiles (e-textiles) are among the rapidly developing wearable electronics in recent years. They have revolutionized the functionality of traditional textiles by incorporating smart attributes, enabling unique and multifunctional applications. Significantly, e-textiles have made notable advancements in the field of personalized healthcare. The article introduces several common e-textiles and their applications in personalized medicines, which also gives a forward-looking outlook on their future growth in infectious diseases, real-time health preventive monitoring, auxiliary therapy, and rehabilitation training.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"17 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139385397","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft sciencePub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.44
Yan Wang
{"title":"Emerging epidermal electrodes towards digital health and on-skin digitalization","authors":"Yan Wang","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.44","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.44","url":null,"abstract":"Epidermal electrodes can be directly attached to the human skin for high-fidelity electrophysiological monitoring owing to their preponderance in thinness, lightweight, conformability, biocompatibility, self-adhesiveness, mechanical flexibility, gas-permeability, etc. These devices have attracted immense attention due to their emerging applications in personalized health care, human/brain-machine interfaces, and soft robotics. This Perspective focuses on the most recent significant progress in this area, especially materials, properties, and applications. Challenges and prospects are summarized to underscore the unexploited areas and future directions toward digital health and on-skin digitalization.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139127748","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft sciencePub Date : 2023-11-03DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.38
Yunlong Bai, Jie Zhang, Chennan Lu, Wei Rao
{"title":"Liquid metals nanotransformer for healthcare biosensors","authors":"Yunlong Bai, Jie Zhang, Chennan Lu, Wei Rao","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.38","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.38","url":null,"abstract":"Featuring low cost, low melting points, excellent biocompatibility, outstanding electrical conductivity, and mechanical properties, gallium-based liquid metals (LMs) have become a promising class of materials to fabricate flexible healthcare sensors. However, the extremely high surface tension hinders their manipulation and cooperation with substrates. To address this problem, the inspiration of nanomaterials has been adopted to mold LMs into LM nanoparticles (LMNPs) with expanded advantages. The transformability of LMNPs endows them with functionalities for sensors in multiple dimensions, such as intelligent response to specific molecules or strains, various morphologies, integration into high-resolution circuits, and conductive elastomers. This review aims to summarize the superior properties of LMs, transformability of LMNPs, and correlated advantages for sensor performance. Multidimensional functional sensing forms consisting of LMNPs and corresponding applications as healthcare sensors will be presented. In the end, the existing challenges and prospects in the processing and application of LMNPs will also be discussed.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"131 s216","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135777707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft sciencePub Date : 2023-11-02DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.33
Chunfeng Wang, Hongjie Hu, Dengfeng Peng, Lin Dong, Deliang Zhu
{"title":"Soft devices empowered by mechanoluminescent materials","authors":"Chunfeng Wang, Hongjie Hu, Dengfeng Peng, Lin Dong, Deliang Zhu","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.33","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.33","url":null,"abstract":"Mechanoluminescence is the phenomenon in which certain materials emit light when subjected to mechanical stimuli, such as bending, stretching, or compression. Soft devices containing embedded mechanoluminescent materials are capable of responding to mechanical deformation by emitting light, which can be utilized for various applications, including sensing, display, communication, and visual feedback. In this Perspective, we discuss recent advancements and emerging applications of mechanoluminescent materials for soft devices, with a focus on the remaining challenges in mechanoluminescent materials, such as performance, mechanism, synthesis, and device fabrication, that need to be addressed for developing advanced soft devices, and propose the potential solutions.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"27 6","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135935053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft sciencePub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.42
Xudong Yang, Yuan Zhou, Huichan Zhao, Weicheng Huang, Yifan Wang, K. Jimmy Hsia, Mingchao Liu
{"title":"Morphing matter: from mechanical principles to robotic applications","authors":"Xudong Yang, Yuan Zhou, Huichan Zhao, Weicheng Huang, Yifan Wang, K. Jimmy Hsia, Mingchao Liu","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.42","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.42","url":null,"abstract":"The adaptability of natural organisms in altering body shapes in response to the environment has inspired the development of artificial morphing matter. These materials encode the ability to transform their geometrical configurations in response to specific stimuli and have diverse applications in soft robotics, wearable electronics, and biomedical devices. However, achieving the morphing of intricate three-dimensional shapes from a two-dimensional flat state is challenging, as it requires manipulations of surface curvature in a controlled manner. In this review, we first summarize the mechanical principles extensively explored for realizing morphing matter, both at the material and structural levels. We then highlight its applications in the soft robotics field. Moreover, we offer insights into the open challenges and opportunities that this rapidly growing field faces. This review aims to inspire researchers to uncover innovative working principles and create multifunctional morphing matter for various engineering fields.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"5 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135215791","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent advancements in liquid metal enabled flexible and wearable biosensors","authors":"Guoqiang Li, Sanhu Liu, Zhiwu Xu, Jinhong Guo, Shi-Yang Tang, Xing Ma","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.30","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.30","url":null,"abstract":"Wearable biosensors have demonstrated enormous potential in revolutionizing healthcare by providing real-time fitness tracking, enabling remote patient monitoring, and facilitating early detection of health issues. To better sense vital life signals, researchers are increasingly favoring wearable biosensors with flexible properties that can be seamlessly integrated with human tissues, achieved through the utilization of soft materials. Gallium (Ga)-based liquid metals (LMs) possess desirable properties, such as fluidity, high conductivity, and negligible toxicity, which make them inherently soft and well-suited for the fabrication of flexible and wearable biosensors. In this article, we present a comprehensive overview of the recent advancements in the nascent realm of flexible and wearable biosensors employing LMs as key components. This paper provides a detailed exposition of the unique characteristics of Ga-based LM materials, which set them apart from traditional materials. Moreover, the state-of-the-art applications of Ga-based LMs in flexible and wearable biosensors that expounded from six aspects are reviewed, including wearable interconnects, pressure sensors, strain sensors, temperature sensors, and implantable bioelectrodes. Furthermore, perspectives on the key challenges and future developing directions of LM-enabled wearable and flexible biosensors are also discussed.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136114107","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft sciencePub Date : 2023-10-16DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.28
Maoyu Peng, Biao Ma, Guoqiang Li, Yong Liu, Yang Zhang, Xing Ma, Sheng Yan
{"title":"A highly stretchable and sintering-free liquid metal composite conductor enabled by ferrofluid","authors":"Maoyu Peng, Biao Ma, Guoqiang Li, Yong Liu, Yang Zhang, Xing Ma, Sheng Yan","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.28","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.28","url":null,"abstract":"Stretchable and highly conductive elastomers with intrinsically deformable liquid metal (LM) fillers exhibit promising potential in soft electronics, wearables, human-machine interfaces, and soft robotics. However, conventional LM-elastomer (LME) conductors require a high loading ratio of LM and the post-sintering to rupture LM particles to achieve electric conductivity, which results in high LM consumption and process complexity. In this work, we presented a straightforward and post-sintering-free method that utilizes magnetic aggregation to fabricate stretchable LME conductors. This was achieved by dispersing LM ferrofluid into the elastomer precursor, followed by applying the magnetic field to induce the aggregation and interconnection of the LM ferrofluid particles to form conductive pathways. This method not only simplifies the preparation of initially conductive LME but also reduces the LM loading ratio. The resulting conductive LME composites show high stretchability (up to 650% strain), high conductance stability, and magnetic responsiveness. The stretchable LME conductors were demonstrated in various applications, including the creation of flexible microcircuits, a magnetically controlled soft switch, and a soft hydrogel actuator for grasping tasks. We believe the stretchable LME conductors may find wide applications in electronic skins, soft sensors, and soft machines.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136114413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Soft sciencePub Date : 2023-10-09DOI: 10.20517/ss.2023.25
Chenxi Wang, Qing Liu, Haijun Song, Qinglin Jiang
{"title":"Vacuum filtration method towards flexible thermoelectric films","authors":"Chenxi Wang, Qing Liu, Haijun Song, Qinglin Jiang","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.25","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.25","url":null,"abstract":"Thermoelectric (TE) conversion technology can directly exploit the temperature difference of several Kelvin between the human body and the environment to generate electricity, which provides a self-powered solution for wearable electronics. Flexible TE materials are increasingly being developed through various methods, among which the vacuum filtration method stands out for its unique advantages, attracting the favor of researchers. It has been proven to construct flexible TE thin films with excellent performance effectively. This paper presents a comprehensive overview and survey of the advances of the vacuum filtration method in producing flexible TE thin films. The materials covered in this study include conducting polymer-based materials, carbon nanoparticle-based materials, inorganic materials, two-dimensional materials, and ternary composites. Finally, we explore potential research outlooks and the significance of flexible films, which are at the forefront of research in TE materials science.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"117 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135095746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A stretchable all-nanofiber iontronic pressure sensor","authors":"Yigen Wu, Shuai Dong, Xiaojuan Li, Liguo Wen, Hongwei Shen, Mengjiao Li, Xin Liu, Yang Zhang, Guolong Zeng, Jianyi Zheng, Dezhi Wu","doi":"10.20517/ss.2023.24","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20517/ss.2023.24","url":null,"abstract":"Flexible pressure sensors with high stretchability, sensitivity, and stability are undoubtedly urgently required for potential applications in intelligent soft robots, human-machine interaction, health monitoring, and other fields. However, most current flexible pressure sensors are unable to endure large deformation and are prone to performance degradation or even failure during frequent operation due to their multilayered structures. Here, we propose a stretchable all-nanofiber iontronic pressure sensor that is composed of ionic nanofiber membranes used as dielectric layers and liquid metal used as electrodes. This sensor exhibits a high sensitivity of 1.08 kPa-1 over a wide range of 0-300 kPa, with a fast response-relaxation time of about 18/22 ms and excellent stability. The high sensitivity comes from the electric double layer formed at the ionic film/electrode interface, while high stretchability and stability are enabled by in-situ encapsulated all-nanofiber structures. As a proof of concept, a prototype sensor array is integrated into a soft pneumatic gripper, demonstrating its capability of pressure perception and object recognition during the grasping process. Thus, the scheme provides another excellent strategy to fabricate stretchable pressure sensors with superb performance in terms of high stretchability, sensitivity, and stability.","PeriodicalId":74837,"journal":{"name":"Soft science","volume":"54 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135253605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}