Scientists make recycling e-skin that heals itself

Over the years, scientists have successfully created electric skin but they have now gone a step further and have made electric skin that not only heals itself but can also make new skin.

The new electric skin can sense touch and temperature and is also capable of recycling itself by re-healing when it’s torn apart. The skin is a thin film containing sensors that calculate temperature, air flow, pressure and humidity.

As The Verge explains, the film is made up of three compounds mixed together and laced with silver nanoparticles. When the skin is cut into two, the components let the e-skin to re-heal by creating chemical bonds. If the skin is broken and cannot be repaired, it can be soaked in a ‘recycling solution’ that liquefies it and the materials can be reused to make new e-skin.

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The engineers predicted that skin can be used in robots, prosthetics, or smart textiles in the future. What makes this e-skin unique is because of its ability to be recycled, not contributing to the toxic waste material produced. The study co-author Jianliang Xiao said, “This particular device ... won’t produce any waste. We want to make electronics to be environmentally friendly.”

The recycling process takes within 30 minutes at 60 degrees Celsius. Though material of the skin is soft, but it’s not stretchy like human skin. As per Futurism, the study was published in the journal Science Advances.