Printing self-powered sensor systems on plastic

Nanowerk  April 22, 2019
An international team of researchers (China, USA – MIT) has developed a proof-of-concept wearable wristband which consists of inkjet-printed electrical interconnects, silicon solar cells for energy harvesting/conversion, printable MnO2-based planar supercapacitors for energy storage, and fully printable SnO2 gas sensor for ethanol/acetone detection. With the supercapacitors serving as photovoltaic energy storage units and providing power for the functional devices during intermittent light illumination, simultaneous functionality without external charging modules can be realized, which is highly desirable for wearable and portable electronics. They synthesized and prepared different functional nanoparticles into printable inks for the fabrication of supercapacitors and gas sensors. The technique has potential for scalable and facile fabrication of a variety of wearable devices…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE

Schematic images of printable fabrication procedures and system operational mechanism of the flexible and wearable monolithically integrated self-powered smart sensor system on plastic substrate. (Reprinted with permission by Wiley-VCH Verlag)

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