Multifunctional Wearable Device Based on Flexible and Conductive Carbon Sponge/Polydimethylsiloxane Composite

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Wearable devices are crucial for personalized healthcare, enabling health monitoring, motion tracking, and thermotherapy.
• Existing devices often lack multifunctionality or rely on expensive materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a multifunctional wearable wristband from a flexible and conductive carbon sponge/polydimethylsiloxane (CS/PDMS) composite.
• To demonstrate its capabilities as both a thermotherapy heater and a sensor for personal health and motion monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a wearable wristband using a CS/PDMS composite, with conductive CS synthesized from waste paper via freeze-drying and high-temperature pyrolysis.
• Evaluation of the wristband's performance as a heater (achieving a 20 °C temperature difference at 15 V) and as a strain sensor (0-20% strain range, 0.01-10 Hz frequency).

Main Results:

• The CS/PDMS wristband demonstrated stable heating performance and excellent durability as a wearable strain sensor.
• The device exhibited fast and repeatable responses within the tested strain and frequency ranges.

Conclusions:

• The developed multifunctional wearable wristband, utilizing a cost-effective CS/PDMS composite, shows significant promise for personalized healthcare applications.
• Its flexibility, moderate conductivity, and strain sensitivity make it suitable for thermotherapy and monitoring vital signs like pulse and respiration, as well as motion.