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Polymer-Based Wearable Electronics

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 131

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031, China
Interests: smart polymers; dynamic polymers; polymeric biomaterials; polymer gels; polymer-based wearable electronics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Wearable electronics have great potential in health management and accessible personalized medicine. Recent years have witnessed the exponential growth of the field of wearable electronics, driven by innovations in polymer science and others. Polymers, with their flexibility, biocompatibility, and tunable properties, are enabling the development of next-generation wearable electronics with high performance capabilities, multi-functionality, tunability/adaptivity, sustainability, etc. This Special Issue invites original research articles, reviews, and perspectives that address recent advancements, challenges, and future trends in polymer-based wearable electronics. Topics of interest include but are not limited to the following:

  • Materials and Design:
    • Conductive and stretchable polymers;
    • Biodegradable, recyclable, and smart polymers;
    • Multifunctional gels and elastomers;
    • 3D/4D printing of polymer systems and wearable electronics.
  • Applications:
    • Healthcare and personalized medicine;
    • Human–machine interfaces and soft robotics;
    • E-skins;
    • Energy harvesting/storage.
  • Interdisciplinary Innovations:
    • Artificial intelligence for polymers development;
    • Signal processing and wireless communication technologies for wearable electronics;
    • Proof-of-concepts/applications of wearable electronics in clinical settings.

Dr. Hui Xie
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • wearable electronics
  • conductive elastomers/polymers
  • biodegradable/recyclable polymers
  • polymer gels
  • 3D/4D printing
  • sensors
  • E-skins
  • healthcare and personalized medicine

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 11557 KiB  
Article
Toward Versatile Transient Electronics: Electrospun Biocompatible Silk Fibroin/Carbon Quantum Dot-Based Green-Emission, Water-Soluble Piezoelectric Nanofibers
by Zhipei Xia, Chubao Liu, Juan Li, Biyao Huang, Chu Pan, Yu Lai, Zhu Liu, Dongling Wu, Sen Liang, Xuanlun Wang, Weiqing Yang and Jun Lu
Polymers 2025, 17(11), 1579; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym17111579 - 5 Jun 2025
Abstract
The rapid development of wearable electronics requires multifunctional, transient electronic devices to reduce the ecological footprint and ensure data security. Unfortunately, existing transient electronic materials need to be degraded in chemical solvents or body fluids. Here, we report green luminescent, water-soluble, and biocompatible [...] Read more.
The rapid development of wearable electronics requires multifunctional, transient electronic devices to reduce the ecological footprint and ensure data security. Unfortunately, existing transient electronic materials need to be degraded in chemical solvents or body fluids. Here, we report green luminescent, water-soluble, and biocompatible piezoelectric nanofibers developed by electrospinning green carbon quantum dots (G-CQDs), mulberry silk fibroin (SF), and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). The introduction of G-CQDs significantly enhances the piezoelectric output of silk fibroin-based fiber materials. Meanwhile, the silk fibroin-based hybrid fibers maintain the photoluminescent response of G-CQDs without sacrificing valuable biocompatibility. Notably, the piezoelectric output of a G-CQD/PVA/SF fiber-based nanogenerator is more than three times higher than that of a PVA/SF fiber-based nanogenerator. This is one of the highest levels of state-of-the-art piezoelectric devices based on biological organic materials. As a proof of concept, in the actual scenario of a rope skipping exercise, the G-CQD/PVA/SF fiber-based nanogenerator is further employed as a self-powered wearable sensor for real-time sensing of athletic motions. It demonstrates high portability, good flexibility, and stable piezoresponse for smart sports applications. This class of water-disposable, piezo/photoactive biological materials could be compelling building blocks for applications in a new generation of versatile, transient, wearable/implantable devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Wearable Electronics)
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