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Conformable, Thin, and Dry Electrode for Electrocardiography Using Composite of Silver Nanowires and Polyvinyl Butyral

  • Su Bin Choi
  • Min Suk Oh
  • Chul Jong Han
  • Jae-Wook Kang
  • Cheul-Ro Lee
  • Jinseok LeeEmail author
  • Jong-Woong KimEmail author
Original Article - Electronics, Magnetics and Photonics
First Online:

Abstract

Development of a thin and dry electrode for electrocardiography (ECG) is essential in order to prevent skin irritation, allergic reactions from electrolytic gel, and motion artifacts caused by relative motion between the electrodes and the skin. In this study, we have developed a composite electrode made from Ag nanowires (AgNWs) and polyvinyl butyral (PVB), prepared by inverted layer processing (ILP). The initial composite electrodes were mechanically stable, flexible, and transparent; however, most of the NWs were located beneath the surface of the PVB such that few conductive pathways were exposed and available to contact the skin. In order to resolve this issue, prior to transferring the AgNWs from the temporary glass substrate to the PVB, we irradiated the NWs with intensive pulsed light. This irradiation induced plasmonic heating of the AgNWs, which caused the NWs to sink towards the glass and form a dense layer on the temporary substrate. Subsequent ILP resulted in the fabrication of an AgNWs/PVB composite electrode that demonstrated significant surface coverage of conductive pathways available for stable electrical contact with skin. The resultant composite electrode is an improved ECG electrode that exhibits fewer motion artifacts compared to conventional Ag/AgCl-based wet electrodes since it is both dry and conformable.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Ag nanowires Conformal electrode Electrocardiography Intense pulsed light Composite 
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Notes

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) Grant (Numbers 2015R1A4A1042417, 2018R1D1A1B07047386 and 2016M3A7B4910) funded by the Korean government (MSIP).

Supplementary material

13391_2019_125_MOESM1_ESM.docx (1.8 mb)
Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 1872 kb)

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Copyright information

© The Korean Institute of Metals and Materials 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.School of Advanced Materials EngineeringChonbuk National UniversityJeonjuRepublic of Korea
  2. 2.Display Materials and Components Research CenterKorea Electronics Technology InstituteSeongnamRepublic of Korea
  3. 3.School of Flexible and Printable ElectronicsChonbuk National UniversityJeonjuRepublic of Korea
  4. 4.Department of Biomedical EngineeringWonkwang University College of MedicineIksanRepublic of Korea

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