Do Hwan Kim
Hanyang University · Engineering
About the Lab
Professor Do Hwan Kim's research lab specializes in the development of advanced functional materials and devices for next-generation human-machine interfaces and sustainable energy technologies. The lab focuses on designing smart, wearable sensors—particularly piezocapacitive and ionic tactile sensors—inspired by biological mechanotransduction mechanisms, enabling high-sensitivity, multimodal detection of mechanical, thermal, and physiological signals. A key research direction involves engineering nanomaterials such as carbon nanotube microyarns, single-atom catalysts, and liquid-crystalline semiconductors to enhance performance in flexible electronics and rechargeable metal-air batteries. The lab also explores surface engineering strategies to control molecular ordering and interfacial interactions for high-performance organic field-effect transistors and energy storage systems.
Research Overview
Research Output Trend
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Selected Papers
15A highly sensitive, wearable, and multimodal skin sensor that uses hierarchically engineered elastic carbon nanotube microyarns is described. Piezocapacitive all-carbon skin sensors simultaneously detect heterogeneous external subtle stimuli, including mechanical deformation, touch, temperature or humidity gradients, and even biological variables with different dipole moments, which enables in situ human monitoring as well as recognition of robot-human-environmental interface. As a service to ou
Abstract Biological cellular structures have inspired many scientific disciplines to design synthetic structures that can mimic their functions. Here, we closely emulate biological cellular structures in a rationally designed synthetic multicellular hybrid ion pump, composed of hydrogen-bonded [EMIM + ][TFSI − ] ion pairs on the surface of silica microstructures (artificial mechanoreceptor cells) embedded into thermoplastic polyurethane elastomeric matrix (artificial extracellular matrix), to fa
The ability to control the molecular organization of electronically active liquid-crystalline polymer semiconductors on surfaces provides opportunities to develop easy-to-process yet highly ordered supramolecular systems and, in particular, to optimize their electrical and environmental reliability in applications in the field of large-area printed electronics and photovoltaics. Understanding the relationship between liquid-crystalline nanostructure and electrical stability on appropriate molecu
Abstract Ionic tactile sensors (ITS) represent a new class of deformable sensory platforms that mimic not only the tactile functions and topological structures but also the mechanotransduction mechanism across the biological ion channels in human skin, which can demonstrate a more advanced biological interface for targeting emerging human‐interactive technologies compared to conventional e‐skin devices. Recently, flexible and even stretchable ITS have been developed using novel structural design
An artificial ionic mechanotransducer skin with an unprecedented sensitivity over a wide spectrum of pressure by fabricating visco-poroelastic nanochannels and microstructured features, directly mimicking the physiological tactile sensing mechanism of Piezo2 protein is demonstrated. This capability enables voice identification, health monitoring, daily pressure measurements, and even measurements of a heavy weight beyond capabilities of human skin.
Abstract To enhance the electrical performance of pentacene‐based field‐effect transistors (FETs) by tuning the surface‐induced ordering of pentacene crystals, we controlled the physical interactions at the semiconductor/gate dielectric (SiO 2 ) interface by inserting a hydrophobic self‐assembled monolayer (SAM, CH 3 ‐terminal) of organoalkyl‐silanes with an alkyl chain length of C8, C12, C16, or C18, as a complementary interlayer. We found that, depending on the physical structure of the dielec
Abstract Summary: Nanowire lengths and length‐to‐width aspect ratios in regioregular poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) were simply controlled through changes in the solvent vapor pressure during solidification. It is demonstrated that the nanowires grew by rod‐to‐rod association, in which the molecular long axis of the P3HT chains appeared to be well‐oriented parallel to the silicon substrate (Si/SiO x ). The formation of the nanowires took place by one dimensional self‐assembly, governed by π ‐ π s
Wrinkled elastomeric templates prepared by stretching and releasing are utilized for demonstrating highly sensitive, simple, and low-cost piezocapacitive pressure sensors over large area.
Abstract The self-healing properties and ionic sensing capabilities of the human skin offer inspiring groundwork for the designs of stretchable iontronic skins. However, from electronic to ionic mechanosensitive skins, simultaneously achieving autonomously superior self-healing properties, superior elasticity, and effective control of ion dynamics in a homogeneous system is rarely feasible. Here, we report a Cl-functionalized iontronic pressure sensitive material (CLiPS), designed via the introd
Ultrastable sensing characteristics of the ionic chemiresistor skin (ICS) that is designed by using an intrinsically stretchable thermoplastic polyurethane electrolyte as a volatile organic compound (VOC) sensing channel are described. The hierarchically assembled polymer electrolyte film is observed to be very uniform, transparent, and intrinsically stretchable. Systematic experimental and theoretical studies also reveal that artificial ions are evenly distributed in polyurethane matrix without
With the aim of improving the field-effect mobilities in poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin film transistors, we controlled the nanostructures of P3HT thin film by changing the solvent vapor pressure in a spin-coating chamber during solidification. The transistors with P3HT thin films spin-coated under a high solvent vapor pressure (56.5 KPa), showing the one-dimensional nanowire morphologies, resulted in the relatively high field-effect mobilities (0.02 cm2/(V.s)) that are typically more than 1
Abstract A mechanosensitive, visco‐poroelastic polymer ion pump that can rapidly establish a dense electrical double layer via mechanical pressure, thereby significantly enhancing output performance of an ionic triboelectric nanogenerator (iTENG), is described. A working mechanism of an iTENG using a highly mechanosensitive, visco‐poroelastic ion pump is suggested and the optimal characteristics of the polymer ion pump are reported by investigating optical, mechanical, electrical, and electroche
Following early research efforts devoted to achieving excellent sensitivity of electronic skins, recent design schemes for these devices have focused on strategies for transduction of spatially resolved sensing data into straightforward user-adaptive visual signals. Here, a material platform capable of transducing mechanical stimuli into visual readout is presented. The material layer comprises a mixture of an ionic transition metal complex luminophore and an ionic liquid (capable of producing e
Artificial smart designs inspired by structural and functional features of biological organisms have opened new avenues to develop high-performance flexible tactile sensors and advanced artificial sensory systems.
Research Areas
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