A groundbreaking achievement was recently unveiled by a team of scientists at Stanford University in the United States. They've engineered the world’s first synthetic material capable of both sharp tactile sensitivity and rapid self-healing at room temperature. This innovation could pave the way for smarter prosthetics or more durable self-repairing consumer electronics. The findings were published in the November 11 edition of Nature Nanotechnology.
For years, researchers have grappled with replicating the extraordinary capabilities of human skin, including its sense of touch—conveying precise pressure and temperature data to the brain—and its remarkable self-healing properties. Professor Zhenan Bao and her team at Stanford's Department of Chemical Engineering have now merged these two traits into a single composite material.
Over the last decade, significant strides have been made in creating artificial skin. However, even the most advanced self-healing materials have had notable limitations. Some require exposure to high temperatures to function properly, while others heal at room temperature but lose their mechanical or chemical integrity after repair, limiting their use to a single application. Moreover, none of these materials have demonstrated reliable electrical conductivity.
The Bao team managed to combine the best features of different materials by blending a self-healing plastic polymer with metallic conductivity. The plastics they employ contain long-chain molecules linked by hydrogen bonds, which can break apart and then reform upon contact, restoring the material’s structure.
To enhance the material’s mechanical strength, the researchers incorporated microscopic nickel particles into the elastic polymer. These particles have a nanoscale rough surface, critical for enabling electrical conductivity. The jagged edges of the nickel particles concentrate electric fields, facilitating the flow of current between particles, thus rendering the polymer conductive.
In tests, the material demonstrated impressive recovery abilities post-damage. A thin strip of the material, when cut in half, could regain 75% of its initial mechanical strength and conductivity within seconds. With additional pressing for 30 minutes, the performance returned nearly to 100%. Even more impressively, the same sample could be repeatedly cut and repaired up to 50 times without losing its flexibility or elasticity.
The team also investigated the material’s varistor properties. The process of electrons forming a current in the material resembles leaping across stones in a stream. The nickel particles act as the stepping stones. The distance between them dictates the amount of energy required for electrons to move from one particle to another. As the synthetic skin bends or presses, the distance between the nickel particles alters, influencing the ease of electron movement. These slight shifts in resistance can be translated into valuable data regarding stress and strain. The researchers noted that the material can even detect the pressure exerted during a handshake.
Professor Bao highlighted that the material exhibits exceptional sensitivity to pressure and bending, suggesting future prosthetics could offer enhanced joint articulation. Devices wrapped in this material, such as electrical wiring, would become self-repairing, making maintenance far simpler and more cost-effective, particularly in hard-to-access areas like building interiors or vehicle components. The team’s next objective is to refine the material to make it more transparent and flexible, allowing it to better suit the encapsulation and protection of electronic devices or displays. (Reported by Feng Weidong)
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