Pressure Regulated Printing of Semiliquid Metal on Electrospinning Film Enables Breathable and Waterproof Wearable Electronics

Abstract

Application of liquid metals and electrospun nanofibers offer a promising solution to insufficient resilience and human comfort of wearable electronics. However, a sustainable manufacturing process is hindered by the low surface tension of liquid metal, and it's poor attachment to the surface of the fabric. This research reveals that tuning the pressure can control the adhesion of semiliquid metal (SLM) on substrates with varying roughness to achieve selective adhesion. Furthermore, a simple and rapid (30 s) fabrication method based on selective adhesion and low mobility of SLM is presented for preparing a multilayered monitoring device capable of measuring human body temperature and ECG signals for 24 h. This device exhibits excellent air permeability of 311.1 g·m⁻²·h⁻¹, water resistance (washing for 120 min). Our novel approach can inspire the development of methods for printing liquid metal circuits on roughness substrates and enable the practical use of waterproof and breathable wearable electronic devices in the future.

Keywords

Wearable electronics / Liquid metal / Air permeability / Water resistance / Multilayer circuits

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Funding

the Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province(2021C05007-2); the National Natural Science Foundation of China(52121002)