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Polymer-Based Flexible Printed Electronics and Sensors

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 49871

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Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Tae-il Kim

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Guest Editor

School of Chemical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU), Jangan-gu, Suwon 16419, Korea
Interests: flexible/stretchable devices; heat sinking; micro LED; bioinspired electroncis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recently, flexible and printed electronics/sensors have drawn significant attention. The field for flexible and printed electronics is an interdisciplinary engineering field, which requires a comprehensive understanding of materials science, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and physics. Among them, new polymeric materials should be demonstrated to contribute to many practical applications, such as IoT, bio-heathcare devices.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together innovative developments in a broad spectrum of “Polymer Based-Flexible Electronics and Sensor” research. Papers addressing the wide range of aspects of this technology are sought, including, but not limited to, recent developments in new active and passive material components for flexible polymer electronics and sensors, fundamental and applied science issues underlying polymeric semiconducting materials, systems and their fabrication processes, technologies for process integration of flexible electronics and sensors, and studies on their applications.

Both review articles and original research papers are solicited. There is particular interest in papers envisioning innovative semiconducting polymers and their electronics/sensors that have not been possible with conventional rigid materials and form factors.

Prof. Dr. Tae-il Kim
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Polymeric Electronics
Organic Electronics
Stretchable Electronics
Polymer based Electronic Skin
Polymeric Substrates for Deformable Electronics

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 5824 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Fabrication and Evaluation of a Novel Non-Invasive Stretchable and Wearable Respiratory Rate Sensor Based on Silver Nanoparticles Using Inkjet Printing Technology

by Ala’aldeen Al-Halhouli, Loiy Al-Ghussain, Saleem El Bouri, Haipeng Liu and Dingchang Zheng

Polymers 2019, 11(9), 1518; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11091518 - 18 Sep 2019

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 5007

Abstract

The respiration rate (RR) is a key vital sign that links to adverse clinical outcomes and has various important uses. However, RR signals have been neglected in many clinical practices for several reasons and it is still difficult to develop low-cost RR sensors for accurate, automated, and continuous measurement. This study aims to fabricate, develop and evaluate a novel stretchable and wearable RR sensor that is low-cost and easy to use. The sensor is fabricated using the soft lithography technique of polydimethylsiloxane substrates (PDMS) for the stretchable sensor body and inkjet printing technology for creating the conductive circuit by depositing the silver nanoparticles on top of the PDMS substrates. The inkjet-printed (IJP) PDMS-based sensor was developed to detect the inductance fluctuations caused by respiratory volumetric changes. The output signal was processed in a Wheatstone bridge circuit to derive the RR. Six different patterns for a IJP PDMS-based sensor were carefully designed and tested. Their sustainability (maximum strain during measurement) and durability (the ability to go bear axial cyclic strains) were investigated and compared on an automated mechanical stretcher. Their repeatability (output of the sensor in repeated tests under identical condition) and reproducibility (output of different sensors with the same design under identical condition) were investigated using a respiratory simulator. The selected optimal design pattern from the simulator evaluation was used in the fabrication of the IJP PDMS-based sensor where the accuracy was inspected by attaching it to 37 healthy human subjects (aged between 19 and 34 years, seven females) and compared with the reference values from e-Health nasal sensor. Only one design survived the inspection procedures where design #6 (array consists of two horseshoe lines) indicated the best sustainability and durability, and went through the repeatability and reproducibility tests. Based on the best pattern, the developed sensor accurately measured the simulated RR with an error rate of 0.46 ± 0.66 beats per minute (BPM, mean ± SD). On human subjects, the IJP PDMS-based sensor and the reference e-Health sensor showed the same RR value, without any observable differences. The performance of the sensor was accurate with no apparent error compared with the reference sensor. Considering its low cost, good mechanical property, simplicity, and accuracy, the IJP PDMS-based sensor is a promising technique for continuous and wearable RR monitoring, especially under low-resource conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Printed Electronics and Sensors)

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12 pages, 8637 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

A Low-Cost, Flexible Pressure Capacitor Sensor Using Polyurethane for Wireless Vehicle Detection

by Chien Khong Duc, Van-Phuc Hoang, Duy Tien Nguyen and Toan Thanh Dao

Polymers 2019, 11(8), 1247; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11081247 - 27 Jul 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4354

Abstract

Detection of vehicles on the road can contribute to the establishment of an intelligent transportation management system to allow smooth transportation and the reduction of road accidents. Thus far, an efficient and low-cost polymer flexible pressure sensor for vehicle detection is lacking. This paper presents a flexible sensor for vehicle sensing and demonstrates a wireless system for monitoring vehicles on the road. A vehicle sensor was fabricated by sandwiching a polyurethane material between aluminum top/bottom electrodes. The sensing mechanism was based on changes in capacitance due to variation in the distance between the two electrodes at an applied external pressure. A clear response against a pressure load of 0.65 Mpa was observed, which is the same pressure as that of the car tire area in contact with the road. Significantly, the sensor was easy to embed on the road line due to its mechanical flexibility and large size. A field test was carried out by embedding the sensor on the road and crossing the sensor with a car. Moreover, the signal displayed on the tablet indicated that the sensing system can be used for wireless detection of the axle, speed, or weight of the vehicle on the road. The findings suggest that the flexible pressure sensor is a promising tool for use as a low-cost vehicle detector in future intelligent transportation management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Printed Electronics and Sensors)

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3090 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A pH-Indicating Colorimetric Tough Hydrogel Patch towards Applications in a Substrate for Smart Wound Dressings

by Li Liu, Xinda Li, Masanori Nagao, Anastasia L. Elias, Ravin Narain and Hyun-Joong Chung

Polymers 2017, 9(11), 558; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym9110558 - 26 Oct 2017

Cited by 59 | Viewed by 10021

Abstract

The physiological milieu of healthy skin is slightly acidic, with a pH value between 4 and 6, whereas for skin with chronic or infected wounds, the pH value is above 7.3. As testing pH value is an effective way to monitor the status of wounds, a novel smart hydrogel wound patch incorporating modified pH indicator dyes was developed in this study. Phenol red (PR), the dye molecule, was successfully modified with methacrylate (MA) to allow a copolymerization with the alginate/polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogel matrix. This covalent attachment prevented the dye from leaching out of the matrix. The prepared pH-responsive hydrogel patch exhibited a porous internal structure, excellent mechanical property, and high swelling ratio, as well as an appropriate water vapour transmission rate. Mechanical responses of alginate/P(AAm-MAPR) hydrogel patches under different calcium and water contents were also investigated to consider the case of exudate accumulation into hydrogels. Results showed that increased calcium amount and reduced water content significantly improved the Young’s modulus and elongation at break of the hydrogels. These characteristics indicated the suitability of hydrogels as wound dressing materials. When pH increased, the color of the hydrogel patches underwent a transition from yellow (pH 5, 6 and 7) to orange (7.4 and 8), and finally to red (pH 9). This range of color change matches the clinically-meaningful pH range of chronic or infected wounds. Therefore, our developed hydrogels could be applied as promising wound dressing materials to monitor the wound healing process by a simple colorimetric display, thus providing a desirable substrate for printed electronics for smart wound dressing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Printed Electronics and Sensors)

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Review

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28 pages, 3597 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Emergence of Flexible White Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

by Dongxiang Luo, Qizan Chen, Baiquan Liu and Ying Qiu

Polymers 2019, 11(2), 384; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11020384 - 22 Feb 2019

Cited by 43 | Viewed by 7824

Abstract

Flexible white organic light-emitting diodes (FWOLEDs) have considerable potential to meet the rapidly growing requirements of display and lighting commercialization. To achieve high-performance FWOLEDs, (i) the selection of effective flexible substrates, (ii) the use of transparent conducting electrodes, (iii) the introduction of efficient device architectures, and iv) the exploitation of advanced outcoupling techniques are necessary. In this review, recent state-of-the-art strategies to develop FWOLEDs have been summarized. Firstly, the fundamental concepts of FWOLEDs have been described. Then, the primary approaches to realize FWOLEDs have been introduced. Particularly, the effects of flexible substrates, conducting electrodes, device architectures, and outcoupling techniques in FWOLEDs have been comprehensively highlighted. Finally, issues and ways to further enhance the performance of FWOLEDs have been briefly clarified. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Printed Electronics and Sensors)

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31 pages, 6317 KiB

Open AccessReview

3D Printing Technologies for Flexible Tactile Sensors toward Wearable Electronics and Electronic Skin

by Changyong Liu, Ninggui Huang, Feng Xu, Junda Tong, Zhangwei Chen, Xuchun Gui, Yuelong Fu and Changshi Lao

Polymers 2018, 10(6), 629; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym10060629 - 07 Jun 2018

Cited by 199 | Viewed by 21207

Abstract

3D printing has attracted a lot of attention in recent years. Over the past three decades, various 3D printing technologies have been developed including photopolymerization-based, materials extrusion-based, sheet lamination-based, binder jetting-based, power bed fusion-based and direct energy deposition-based processes. 3D printing offers unparalleled flexibility and simplicity in the fabrication of highly complex 3D objects. Tactile sensors that emulate human tactile perceptions are used to translate mechanical signals such as force, pressure, strain, shear, torsion, bend, vibration, etc. into electrical signals and play a crucial role toward the realization of wearable electronics and electronic skin. To date, many types of 3D printing technologies have been applied in the manufacturing of various types of tactile sensors including piezoresistive, capacitive and piezoelectric sensors. This review attempts to summarize the current state-of-the-art 3D printing technologies and their applications in tactile sensors for wearable electronics and electronic skin. The applications are categorized into five aspects: 3D-printed molds for microstructuring substrate, electrodes and sensing element; 3D-printed flexible sensor substrate and sensor body for tactile sensors; 3D-printed sensing element; 3D-printed flexible and stretchable electrodes for tactile sensors; and fully 3D-printed tactile sensors. Latest advances in the fabrication of tactile sensors by 3D printing are reviewed and the advantages and limitations of various 3D printing technologies and printable materials are discussed. Finally, future development of 3D-printed tactile sensors is discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Flexible Printed Electronics and Sensors)

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