Interface (matter)

Physics

Engineering

Artificial intelligence

Composite material

Materials science

Capillary action

Rubbing

Capillary number

Computer science

Pressure sensor

Homogeneous

Mechanical engineering

Robot

Thermodynamics

Toughness

Nature Communications

Electronic skins (e-skins) are devices that can respond to mechanical stimuli and enable robots to perceive their surroundings. A great challenge for existing e-skins is that they may easily fail under extreme mechanical conditions due to their multilayered architecture with mechanical mismatch and weak adhesion between the interlayers. Here we report a flexible pressure sensor with tough interfaces enabled by two strategies: quasi-homogeneous composition that ensures mechanical match of interlayers, and interlinked microconed interface that results in a high interfacial toughness of 390 J·m−2. The tough interface endows the sensor with exceptional signal stability determined by performing 100,000 cycles of rubbing, and fixing the sensor on a car tread and driving 2.6 km on an asphalt road. The topological interlinks can be further extended to soft robot-sensor integration, enabling a seamless interface between the sensor and robot for highly stable sensing performance during manipulation tasks under complicated mechanical conditions. E-skins often have poor interfaces that lead to unstable performances. Here, authors report e-skins with a quasi-homogeneous composition and bonded micro-structured interfaces, through which both the sensitivity and stability of the devices are improved.

Highly stable flexible pressure sensors with a quasi-homogeneous composition and interlinked interfaces