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A Gel-Free Ti3C2Tx-Based Electrode Array for High-Density, High-Resolution Surface Electromyography
Book chapter

A Gel-Free Ti3C2Tx-Based Electrode Array for High-Density, High-Resolution Surface Electromyography

Brendan B. Murphy, Patrick J. Mulcahey, Nicolette Driscoll, Andrew G. Richardson, Gregory T. Robbins, Nicholas V. Apollo, Kathleen Maleski, Timothy H. Lucas, Yury Gogotsi, Timothy Dillingham, …
MXenes, pp 903-930
2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003306511-45

Abstract

Wearable sensors for surface electromyography (EMG) are composed of single- to few-channel large-area contacts, which exhibit high interfacial impedance and require conductive gels or adhesives to record high-fidelity signals. These devices are also limited in their ability to record activation across large muscle groups due to poor spatial coverage. To address these challenges, a novel high-density EMG array is developed based on titanium carbide (Ti3C2T x ) MXene encapsulated in parylene-C. Ti3C2T x is a 2D nanomaterial with excellent electrical, electrochemical, and mechanical properties, which forms colloidally stable aqueous dispersions, enabling safe, scalable solutions-processing. Leveraging the excellent combination of metallic conductivity, high pseudocapacitance, and ease of processability of Ti3C2T x MXene, the fabrication of gel-free, high-density EMG arrays is demonstrated, which are ≈8 µm thick, feature 16 recording channels, and are highly skin conformable. The impedance of Ti3C2T x electrodes in contact with human skin is 100-1000× lower than the impedance of commercially available electrodes which require conductive gels to be effective. Furthermore, the arrays can record high-fidelity, low-noise EMG, and can resolve muscle activation with improved spatiotemporal resolution and sensitivity compared to conventional gelled electrodes. Overall, the results establish Ti3C2T x -based bioelectronic interfaces as a powerful platform technology for high-resolution, noninvasive wearable sensing technologies.

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