Anisotropic nanostructured materials based on graphene and two-dimensional materials for flexible and wearable electronics

可穿戴技术彻底改变了我们监测健康状况的方式。智能手机、手表和其他专用设备使我们能够持续监测我们的心率、血氧水平、呼吸频率和运动。目前的产品模型依赖于传统的电子元件，这会使产品呈现出板状、僵硬和用户侵扰性。可穿戴设备的侵入性归因于它们的大小和僵化。产品的整体大小与内部组件的配置和大小直接相关。电子元件的小型化使得可以通过减小元件之间的尺寸和点对点距离来制造更小、更快的电子设备。然而，必须获得新的方法来解决与致密微型化部件产生的热量有关的因素以及如何有效地将其散失。无效的散热可能会阻碍电路中组件的效率和性能。目前在电路中使用的材料由于其组成和物理限制，特别容易受到散热不足的影响。具有良好导电性和导热性的新材料对下一代器件的发展至关重要。这些材料应该有效地散热，同时限制向邻近组件的转移。二维、导电、纳米结构材料的使用为可穿戴技术行业创造无缝集成的健康产品提供了机会。这可以通过利用现有技术实施创新的部件制造来实现。石墨烯因其柔韧性和良好的导电性和导热性而成为电子元器件的常用材料。导电纳米结构能够创造出易于回收、高性能、低功耗、灵活的微型电路，可用于开发下一代可穿戴技术。

Wearable technology has revolutionised the way we monitor our health. Smart phones, watches and other dedicated devices have enabled continual monitoring of our heart rate, blood oxygen levels, respiration rate and movement. Current product models rely on traditional electronic components which can render the product slab-like, rigid and user-intrusive. The intrusiveness of wearables is attributed to their size and inflexibility. Overall product size is directly related to the configuration and size of the internal components. The miniaturisation of electrical components has allowed for smaller and faster electronic devices to be produced by reducing the size and point-to-point distance between components. However, new methods must be obtained to address factors concerning the heat generated from dense miniaturised components and how it can be effectively dissipated. Ineffective heat dissipation can impede component efficiency and performance within the circuit. Materials currently used in circuitry are particularly susceptible to inadequate heat dissipation due to their composition and physical limitations. New materials with excellent electrical and thermal conductivity are essential for the development of next generation devices. These materials should effectively dissipate heat while restricting transference to adjacent components.The use of two-dimensional, conductive, nanostructured materials presents an opportunity to the wearable technology industry to create seamlessly integrated health products. This can be achieved through the implementation of innovative component manufacture using current technologies. Graphene is emerging as popular material for use in electrical components due to its flexibility and its excellent electrical and thermal conductivity. Conductive nanostructures have the capability of creating easily recyclable, high performance, low power, flexible, miniaturised circuitry that can be used to develop the next generation of wearable technology.