Fish skin based energy production is discussed in the light of human-machine integration.

What is it about?

The developed energy harvester acts as a sensor that interact with human body parts to monitor real-time physiological signals. Self-assembled collagen nano-fibrils comprising fish skin shows stable crystalline structure and possesses non-linear electrostriction effect without any electrical poling treatment. Fish skin based nanogenerator (FSKNG)/pressure sensor is ultrasensitive (sensitivity ~ 27 mVN-1), highly durable (over 75000 cycles) and possesses very fast response time (~ 4.9 ms). Importantly, in response to the external pressure (~ 1.8 MPa), FSKNG generates open circuit voltage, Voc ~ 2 V and short-circuit current, Isc ~ 20 nA due to inherent piezoelectric effect. The magnitude of the generated power (~ 0.75 mWm-2) turns out to be the working mode of low power electronics (such as, blue LED), therefore it substitutes the requirement of an external power supply to drive a pressure sensor as well.

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Why is it important?

Flexible pressure sensors are indispensable for the development of human interactive artificial electronic skin (e-skin). In recent years, several promising routes towards the improvement of piezoresistive, capacitive, triboelectric, and piezoelectric pressure sensors with sensitivity on a par with human skin have been demonstrated. Among them piezoelectric transduction mechanism is suitable choice because of its superior sensitivity, fast response time and higher durability. However, development of bio-compatible and non-toxic multifunctional sensor satisfying the requirements of ultra high mechanosensitivity, flexibility and durability remains a challenge. Thus, self-poled natural piezoelectric materials have been attracted considerable attention due to their higher sensitivity with non-toxicity, biocompatibility and flexibility. Here, we present a self-powered wearable bio-inspired piezoelectric pressure sensor i.e., biopiezoelectric pressure sensor utilizing the unprecedented piezoelectric properties of the fish skin (FSK).

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