Engineering Mixed Ionic/Electronic Materials for On-Skin Electronics and Robotics

Ionic-electronic coupling across the entire volume of conjugated polymer films endows organic electrochemical transistors (OECTs) with high transconductance and low operating voltage. In this talk, I will present our work on all-solid-state OECTs which allows for the development of tactile sensors and electrophysiological monitoring. The use of novel conjugated polymers and polymer electrolytes to promote ion penetration will also be discussed. The findings here demonstrate that all-solid-state OECTs are good candidates for providing rich tactile information as well as high-quality electrocardiogram (ECG) signals with minor fluctuation and stable recording over time, enabling applications for human-machine interfaces, soft robotics and health monitoring.