A self-powered temperature-sensitive electronic-skin based on tribotronic effect of PDMS/PANI nanostructures

Abstract A new self-powered temperature-sensitive electronic-skin (e-skin) for real-time monitoring body temperature without external electricity power was fabricated from patterned polydimethylsiloxane/polyaniline (PDMS/PANI) nanostructures. The e-skin can be feasibly attached on the human body and driven by the mechanical motion energy through triboelectric effect. The outputting triboelectric impulse of the PDMS/PANI units is significantly dependent on the local surface temperature of the e-skin, serving as both the power source and temperature sensing signal. The outputting current of the e-skin increases with increasing surface temperature of the device. Under applied bending deformation, the response of the e-skin is up to 63.6 for 38.6 °C. The e-skin can detect minimum temperature change of 0.4 °C. The working mechanism can be ascribed to the coupling effect of triboelectric and semiconductor properties (tribotronic effect). A practical application of the e-skin attaching on the human body for detecting the body temperature range of 36.5–42.0 °C has been simply demonstrated. This work provides a viable method for real-time monitoring body temperature, and can promote the development of wearable temperature sensors and self-powered multifunctional nanosystems.