Open research questions in Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
283 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 1,345 Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.
What the literature leaves open
Further research is needed to explore the applications of the near-zero creep polyelectrolyte ionic elastomer in various fields - Investigating the long-term stability and biocompatibility of the Poly(TA-co-TAT)-TAO electrode is essential - Developing more advanced materials with improved creep resistance and biocompatibility is a potential future research direction
Near-Zero Creep Ionic Elastomer for Non-drifting Ear Electroencephalogram Signal Acquisition · 2026 · DOIThe lack of a material that can resist creep and provide stable sensing. The limited understanding of the relationship between polymer creep and signal drift in ear electroencephalogram signals. The need for a molecular strategy that can suppress creep and compensate entropy loss.
Near-Zero Creep Ionic Elastomer for Non-drifting Ear Electroencephalogram Signal Acquisition · 2026 · DOIoptimizing deep learning algorithms, - improving computational efficiency, - exploring hardware-algorithm co-designing
The microscopic mechanism underlying contact electrification is poorly understood, despite the ubiquity of the phenomenon.
Although soft grippers provide intrinsic compliance and adaptability, their effectiveness is often limited by the lack of real-time sensory feedback and the complexity of soft actuator dynamics.
It highlights the hybrid system's unique synergy and real-world applicability, aiming to fill a critical gap in the literature.
Piezoelectric‐Triboelectric Hybrid Nanogenerator for Energy Harvesting and Self‐Powered Sensing Applications · 2025 · DOIAbstract Flexible wearable sensors with bimodal functionality offer substantial value for human health monitoring, as relying on a single indicator is insufficient for capturing comprehensive physiological information.
A Wireless Health Monitoring System Accomplishing Bimodal Decoupling Based on an “IS”‐Shaped Multifunctional Conductive Hydrogel · 2025 · DOINevertheless, problems such as insufficient data annotation and high demand for computational resources still limit the application of e-skin.
However, the application of pure double network hydrogel-based composites is limited by their poor chemical stability, low mechanical stretchability, and low sensitivity.
Importantly, the raw material for producing • OH is water, so the tumor therapy is not limited by the endogenous substances (O 2, H 2 O 2, etc.
Free Radicals Generated in Perfluorocarbon–Water (Liquid–Liquid) Interfacial Contact Electrification and Their Application in Cancer Therapy · 2024 · DOIAs a key component for wearable electronics, intrinsically stretchable and healable semiconducting polymers are scarce because carrier mobility is often reduced with increasing stretchability and self-healability.
In situ continuous hydrogen-bonded engineering for intrinsically stretchable and healable high-mobility polymer semiconductors · 2024 · DOIThere is a lack of research addressing a key limitation in wearable electronics: Connections between rigid and textile elements are often unreliable, and they require interfacing sensors in a way incompatible with textile mass production methods.
However, because of limitations in materials, device structure, and fabrication methodology, the performance of these ultrathin devices and circuits is insufficient to support higher-level applications.
Sub–180-nanometer-thick ultraconformable high-performance carbon nanotube–based dual-gate transistors and differential amplifiers · 2024 · DOIComposites comprising copper-doped zinc sulfide phosphor microparticles embedded in polydimethylsiloxane (ZnS:Cu-PDMS) have received significant attention over the past decade because of their bright and durable mechanoluminescence (ML); however, the underlying mechanism of this unique ML remains unclear.
Interfacial Triboelectricity Lights Up Phosphor‐Polymer Elastic Composites: Unraveling the Mechanism of Mechanoluminescence in Zinc Sulfide Microparticle‐Embedded Polydimethylsiloxane Films · 2024 · DOIIn order to achieve the usage of CHs in aquatic environments, the integrated properties such as water retention ability, resistance to swelling, toughness, adhesiveness, linear GF sensing, and long-term usage are necessary to consider, but rarely reported in the previous reports.
Cation‐π Interactions Based Conductive Hydrogels with Slide‐Ring Structure Toward Super Long‐Time in‐air/Underwater Linear Sensing and Communication · 2024 · DOIHowever, previous studies on flexible sensors have primarily focused on their elasticity and temperature‐sensing capability, with few reports on material identification.
Self‐Powered Machine‐Learning‐Assisted Material Identification Enabled by a Thermogalvanic Dual‐Network Hydrogel with a High Thermopower · 2024 · DOIHowever, 3D‐printed anisotropic piezoresistive pressure sensors (PPSs) remain unexplored despite their convenience in saving the poling process.
3D Printing of Anisotropic Piezoresistive Pressure Sensors for Directional Force Perception · 2024 · DOIDespite significant advances, practical application of hydrogel‐based sensor is limited by the lack of general routes to fabricate materials with combination of mechanical, conductive, and biological properties.
Stretchable, Self‐Healing, and Bioactive Hydrogel with High‐Functionality N,N′‐bis(acryloyl)cystamine Dynamically Bonded Ag@polydopamine Crosslinkers for Wearable Sensors · 2024 · DOIMetal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as promising materials for triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), but the effects of ligand choice on triboelectric charge remain underexplored.
However, the influence of dermatoglyphic structures on tactile signal transmission, such as the effect of fingerprint ridge filtering on friction-induced vibration frequencies, remains unexplored.
Biometric‐Tuned E‐Skin Sensor with Real Fingerprints Provides Insights on Tactile Perception: Rosa Parks Had Better Surface Vibrational Sensation than Richard Nixon · 2024 · DOIHowever, the implementation of these soft microfluidic devices is limited by their high fabrication costs and the need for skin adhesives to block natural perspiration.
Stretchable and Smart Wettable Sensing Patch with Guided Liquid Flow for Multiplexed in Situ Perspiration Analysis · 2024 · DOIThe energy conversion efficiency of a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is severely limited by the charge density of triboelectric materials, while drastic and unavoidable charge decay happens during contact due to the insufficient charge retention capacity of positive triboelectric materials.
Acid-Doped Pyridine-Based Polybenzimidazole as a Positive Triboelectric Material with Superior Charge Retention Capability · 2024 · DOIAlthough laser scanning facilitates the formation of LIG and its strain sensor, the strain-sensing sensitivity enhancement of LIG remains limited by the material's properties and structural design.
Ultrasensitive and Stretchable Strain Sensors Based on Laser-Induced Graphene With ZnO Nanoparticles · 2024 · DOIHowever, current biomimetic soft systems are still limited by the lack of comprehensive, integrated functional skins that can automatically deform, dynamically sense, and further send color signals when diving into underwater conditions.
Jellyfish-Inspired Visual and Sensory Bubbling Robots with Automatic 3D Morphable Films for Underwater Environmental Interactions · 2024 · DOIHowever, comprehensive reviews describing these hydrogels in terms of synthesis and application in sensors are still lacking.
Antifreezing/Antiswelling Hydrogels: Synthesis Strategies and Applications as Flexible Motion Sensors · 2024 · DOI
Most-cited papers in Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Fully integrated wearable sensor arrays for multiplexed in situ perspiration analysis · Nature · 2016 · 4,835 citations
- Epidermal Electronics · Science · 2011 · 4,676 citations
- Neuromorphic sensorimotor loop embodied by monolithically integrated, low-voltage, soft e-skin · Science · 2023 · 777 citations
- Tough and stretchable ionogels by in situ phase separation · Nature Materials · 2022 · 773 citations
- Smart textiles for personalized healthcare · Nature Electronics · 2022 · 727 citations
- Wearable Pressure Sensors for Pulse Wave Monitoring · Advanced Materials · 2022 · 718 citations
- Advances in flexible organic field-effect transistors and their applications for flexible electronics · npj Flexible Electronics · 2022 · 536 citations
- Humidity Sensors · Journal of the American Ceramic Society · 1991 · 507 citations
- High-brightness all-polymer stretchable LED with charge-trapping dilution · Nature · 2022 · 480 citations
- Piezoelectric nanogenerators for personalized healthcare · Chemical Society Reviews · 2022 · 433 citations
Most recent work
- Intelligent Tactile Perception Revolution: Innovations in Flexible FET‐Based Tactile Sensors for Next‐Gen Human–Machine Interfaces · Advanced Materials · 2026
- Recent Progress on Flexible Multimodal Sensors: Decoupling Strategies, Fabrication and Applications · Advanced Materials · 2026
- Self-adhesive, anti-freezing, multifunctional PDES-based conductive hydrogel strengthened by collagen fiber network for multimodal sensing and triboelectric nanogenerator · Chemical Engineering Journal · 2026
- Hysteresis-free and dynamically resilient strain sensor enabled by interfacial coordination · Science Advances · 2026
- Intelligent Temperature and Pressure Sensing Decoupling Systems in Multimodal Nanonetwork-based Electronic Textiles · ACS Nano · 2026
- An All‐Soft Wearable Electrochemiluminescence Chip for Sweat Metabolite Detection · Advanced Science · 2026
- Chitosan‐Loaded Lead‐Free Sodium Bismuth Titanate Composite Flexible Triboelectric Nanogenerator for Energy Harvesting, Biomechanical Sensing, and Smart‐Path Touch‐Lighting for Safe Walking Applications · Small · 2026
- Rapid Self‐Healing and Self‐Adhesive Supramolecular‐Polymer Double‐Network Eutectogels for Wearable Flexible Sensors in Human‐Machine Interaction · Small · 2026
- High-sensitivity PZT-OV/Ti3C2Tx/PVDF piezoelectric fiber for self-powered vital signs monitoring · eScience · 2026
- Biomass-Derived Conductive Hydrogel-Based Electronic-Skin Patch for Integrated Wearable Bioelectronics and Real-Time Wound-Status Monitoring and Treatment · Analytical Chemistry · 2026
Find a gap in your own Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials sub-topic
This page shows what the Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials literature already flags as unresolved. To narrow it to your specific question, run the guided finder — it searches the gap library on demand and checks candidates against 250M+ OpenAlex works.
Open the Research Gap Finder →