Body Heat Powers Future Electronic Skins

Abstract

© 2019 Elsevier Inc. Ruoming Tian recently joined the Mark Wainwright Analytical Centre as an XRD research assistant at the University of New South Wales. She was formerly a Research Scientist at the Toyota Physical and Chemical Research Institute in Japan (2015–2018) and received her PhD from the University of New South Wales in 2014. Her research interests focus on the nano- and micro-materials, flexible hybrid materials, and smart devices for harvesting both high- and low-grade thermal energy. She has published 2 book chapters and 18 peer-reviewed articles and delivered more than 15 talks at international conferences and leading research institutes. Yuqing Liu is currently an Associate Research Fellow and received her PhD (2018) in the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI), University of Wollongong, Australia. Her research interest is on the fabrication of wearable energy storage and conversion devices (e.g. thermos-cells, batteries, supercapacitors, etc.), mainly focusing on nanostructured electrode materials, gel electrolyte/electrode interface, and device fabrication via printing techniques. Kunihito Koumoto, Professor Emeritus of Nagoya University, received his BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Tokyo (UT). He served as an Assistant Professor, Lecturer, and Associate Professor at UT (1979–1992) and a full professor at Nagoya University (1992–2015). He has published 495 papers and reviews and 58 book chapters in inorganic materials chemistry. He was awarded Medal with Purple Ribbon by the Emperor of Japan in 2013 and Outstanding Achievement Award by the International Thermoelectric Society in 2018. His current research focuses on inorganic/organic nanohybrid thermoelectrics for energy harvesting. Koumoto can be reached by email at [email protected]. Jun Chen is currently a Full Professor at IPRI|ACES, Australian Institute for Innovative Materials, University of Wollongong (UOW). He received BE from Zhejiang University of Technology (1995) and PhD from UOW (2003). Professor Chen has published more than 180 papers and has been named a Highly Cited Researcher for 2018 (Clarivate Analytics). His research interests include sustainable energy devices, electro-/bio-interfaces, nano-/micro-materials, 2D/3D printing, and smart wearable electronic devices. Apart from academic achievements, Chen has also been involved in two spin-off companies: AQUAHYDREX as one of the key inventors, and IMAGINE as one of the scientific founders. The rising elderly population is driving the need for home health care and remote diagnosis. Emerging E-skins hold great promise to both non-invasively monitor patient vitals and provide rapid and personalized health advice. However, powering these synthetic E-skins in a reliable, convenient, and unattended manner is yet to be achieved. Here, we will present the perspective of utilizing a skin-conformal thermoelectric generator as the potential power supply. We will discuss the conceptual design of such devices, desired materials, and associated fabrication routes and also provide a direction for future research in the E-skin field