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Polymeric Nanocomposites for Wearable Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 2554

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE), The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Interests: flexible/wearable antennas and sensors for medical applications; electromagnetic medical imaging; development and characterization of flexible polymer–ceramic composite materials for wearable electronic devices
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Guest Editor
School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering (ITEE), The University of Queensland, Brisbane 4072, Australia
Interests: microwave imaging; antennas; sensors for medical applications; dielectric material characterization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer nanocomposite materials for wearable electronic devices have attracted significant attention from numerous researchers owing to their exceptional dielectric/electrical and mechanical properties that cannot be obtained from pure polymers or conventional composites materials. Polymer nanocomposites are defined as a mixture of two or more materials in which nanoscale (smaller than 100 nm) inorganic particles are dispersed in a polymer matrix to markedly enhance their properties.  These properties could include high conductivity, increased thermal stability, and tensile strength in the case of conductive materials and significantly improve the dielectric properties and mechanical flexibility in the case of dielectric materials. All these features are significantly important for future wearable electronic devices as they are expected to perform in different challenging environments.

This Special Issue aims to publish high-quality research papers, as well as review articles in the emerging research field of polymeric nanocomposites for wearable applications.

Dr. Abdulrahman S. M. Alqadami
Dr. Beadaa Mohammed
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • polymeric nanocomposites
  • wearable antennas

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 3720 KiB  
Article
Soft Wearable Piezoresistive Sensors Based on Natural Rubber Fabricated with a Customized Vat-Based Additive Manufacturing Process
by Antonia Georgopoulou, Sasitorn Srisawadi, Panithi Wiroonpochit and Frank Clemens
Polymers 2023, 15(10), 2410; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15102410 - 22 May 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2054
Abstract
Piezoresistive sensors for monitoring human motions are essential for the prevention and treatment of injury. Natural rubber is a material of renewable origin that can be used for the development of soft wearable sensors. In this study, natural rubber was combined with acetylene [...] Read more.
Piezoresistive sensors for monitoring human motions are essential for the prevention and treatment of injury. Natural rubber is a material of renewable origin that can be used for the development of soft wearable sensors. In this study, natural rubber was combined with acetylene black to develop a soft piezoresistive sensing composite for monitoring the motion of human joints. An additive manufacturing technique based on stereolithography was used, and it was seen that the sensors produced with the method could detect even small strains (<10%) successfully. With the same sensor composite fabricated by mold casting, it was not possible to detect low strains reliably. TEM microscopy revealed that the distribution of the filler was not homogeneous for the cast samples, suggesting a directionality of the conductive filler network. For the sensors fabricated through the stereolithography-based method, a homogeneous distribution could be achieved. Based on mechano-electrical characterization, it was seen that the samples produced with AM combined the ability to endure large elongations with a monotonic sensor response. Under dynamic conditions, the sensor response of the samples produced by 3D printing showed lower drift and lower signal relaxation. The piezoresistive sensors were examined for monitoring the motion of the human finger joints. By increasing the bending angle of the sensor, it was possible to increase the sensitivity of the response. With the renewable origin of natural rubber and manufacturing method, the featured sensors can expand the applicability of soft flexible electronics in biomedical applications and devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymeric Nanocomposites for Wearable Applications)
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