Skin-Inspired Ultrafast Self-Healing Wearable Patch with Hybrid Cooling for Comfortable and Durable Electromyographic Monitoring

As the body's largest organ, the skin is an integrated multisensory system with self-healing ability and helps stabilize body temperature. It is herein, inspired by natural skin, a wearable patch made from porous polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) skeleton, poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogel, and silicon oxide (SiO₂) particles, offers a combination of self-healing properties, along with hybrid radiative and evaporative cooling mechanisms, designed for electromyographic (EMG) signal detection and human-machine interaction. The patch has both high mid-infrared (MIR) emittance (96%) and visible to near-infrared (visNIR) reflectance (80%), coupled with efficient water evaporation from the PVA hydrogel, resulting in a hybrid cooling power of 180 W m⁻². It obtains a temperature drop of ≈7.7 °C using this patch under a solar intensity of ≈700 W m⁻². Furthermore, the patch demonstrates self-healing ability with ultrafast recovery of electrical conductivity (1 s) and a self-healing efficiency (≈71%) of fracture strain. Thus, the wearable patch can detect high-quality EMG signals and provide cooling effects and self-healing capabilities that enhance comfortability and durability. These features make the patch an advanced solution for developing next-generation wearable patches that can meet the rigorous demands of durable body temperature control in various applications.