Reversible Perspiring Artificial “Fingertips”

Dongyu Zhang, Jacques Peixoto, Yuanyuan Zhan, Mert O. Astam, Tom Bus, Joost J.B. van der Tol, Dirk J. Broer (Corresponding author), Danqing Liu (Corresponding author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Fingertip perspiration is a vital process within human predation, to which the species owes its survival and its biological success. In this paper, the unique human ability of extensive perspiration and controlled friction in self-assembled cholesteric liquid crystals is recreated, mimicking the natural processes that occur in the dermis and epidermis of human skin. This is achieved by inducing porosity in responsive, liquid-bearing material through the controlled-polymerization phase-separation process. The unique topography of human fingerprints is further emulated in the materials by balancing the parallel chirality-induced force and the perpendicular substrate-anchoring force during synthesis. As a result, artificial fingertips are capable of secreting and re-absorbing liquid upon light illumination. By demonstrating the function of the soft material in a tribological aspect, it exhibits a controllable anti-sliding property comparable to human fingertips and subsequently attains a higher degree of biomimicry. This biomimetic fingertip is envisioned being applied in a multitude of fields, ranging from biomedical instruments to interactive, human-like soft robotic devices.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2209729
Number of pages8
JournalAdvanced Materials
Volume35
Issue number18
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 4 May 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors thank Charlotte Bording for drawing the schematic illustration of the LCN fingerprint coatings. Dongyu Zhang is financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). This research forms part of the research program financed by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO OCENW.KLEIN. 10854, START-UP 8872) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research.

Funding Information:
The authors thank Charlotte Bording for drawing the schematic illustration of the LCN fingerprint coatings. Dongyu Zhang is financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). This research forms part of the research program financed by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO OCENW.KLEIN. 10854, START‐UP 8872) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Materials published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Funding

The authors thank Charlotte Bording for drawing the schematic illustration of the LCN fingerprint coatings. Dongyu Zhang is financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). This research forms part of the research program financed by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO OCENW.KLEIN. 10854, START-UP 8872) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research. The authors thank Charlotte Bording for drawing the schematic illustration of the LCN fingerprint coatings. Dongyu Zhang is financially supported by the China Scholarship Council (CSC). This research forms part of the research program financed by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO OCENW.KLEIN. 10854, START‐UP 8872) and the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research.

Keywords

  • fingerprint mimetics
  • liquid crystal networks
  • responsive polymer materials
  • triggered reagent perspiration
  • Fingers
  • Humans
  • Polymerization
  • Epidermis
  • Skin
  • Sweat

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