Recent Advances in Natural Functional Biopolymers and Their Applications of Electronic Skins and Flexible Strain Sensors.

In order to replace nonrenewable resources and decrease electronic waste disposal, there is a rapidly rising demand for the utilization of reproducible and degradable biopolymers in flexible electronics. Natural biopolymers have many remarkable characteristics, including light weight, excellent mechanical properties, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, low cost, etc. Thanks to these superior merits, natural functional biopolymers can be designed and optimized for the development of high-performance flexible electronic devices. Herein, we provide an insightful overview of the unique structures, properties and applications of biopolymers for electronic skins (e-skins) and flexible strain sensors. The relationships between properties and sensing performances of biopolymers-based sensors are also investigated. The functional design strategies and fabrication technologies for biopolymers-based flexible sensors are proposed. Furthermore, the research progresses of biopolymers-based sensors with various functions are described in detail. Finally, we provide some useful viewpoints and future prospects of developing biopolymers-based flexible sensors.