Stretchable and Self-Adhesive PEDOT:PSS Electrode for Fully Integrated and Long-Term Electrocardiogram Monitoring

Organic conductive polymers are driving the development of wearable electronics. However, most of the existing electrodes cannot be used for long-term biopotential monitoring due to their poor adhesion, stretchability, and biocompatibility. Here, a bioelectrode was designed by blending the organic semiconductor, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), with various additives, synergistically enabling its high stretchability, adhesion strength, and reduced interface impedance, which can be used for motion-artifact-tolerant recording of ECG signals with high quality. Then, a wearable and wire-free electrocardiogram (ECG) patch is developed by integrating the electrode with the flexible signal acquisition system, realizing long-term, imperceptible, and high-quality ECG monitoring with a high signal-to-noise ratio (38.85 dB). The patch can also be used for daily monitoring of cardiac diseases and sports training scenarios, which may fill the gap in the imperceptible biopotential monitoring area and would be of great value in the future of mobile health and wearable electronics.