Abstract
Non-ionic electronic skins offer intrinsic environmental stability, avoiding the leakage, volatility, and temperature sensitivity that limit ionic sensing systems. Yet, capacitive sensors based on electronic polarization typically exhibit low sensitivity because their dielectric modulation is confined to a single mode. Here, we introduce a dielectric-gradient, fully fiber-integrated non-ionic capacitive architecture that employs an impedance-driven enhancement mechanism. Controlled fiber deformation establishes a dual-variable dielectric network in which pressure-induced reduction of interfacial resistance and impedance releases suppressed polarization, yielding amplified capacitance far beyond that of conventional non-ionic sensors. The resulting device achieves ultrahigh sensitivity of 169.8 kPa−1 over a wide range of 20 Pa–8 MPa and maintains stable operation from −80 °C to 200 °C with less than 6% deviation. When integrated into a tactile-sensing glove and combined with machine learning, it attains 99.25% accuracy in recognizing multiple operational tools under both cryogenic and high-temperature conditions. These findings establish impedance engineering as a universal strategy for constructing high-gain, thermally robust, and reliable non-ionic electronic skins, enabling precision tactile sensing in environments previously inaccessible to flexible electronics.
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Source data underlying all figures in the main manuscript and Supplementary Information are provided with this paper. The capacitance sensing data, mechanical testing data, impedance measurements, finite-element simulation results, and processed datasets used for machine learning analysis are included in the Source Data file and Supplementary Information. All datasets necessary to interpret, verify, and extend the findings of this study are publicly available without restriction. Source data are provided with this paper.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52473045 (M.K.), U2330118 (J.Y.), 52403013 (H.M.), and U22B2080 (Q.Z.)), the National Key R&D Program of China No. 2023YFB3813404 (J.Y.), and the Sichuan Science and Technology Program (No. 2025ZNSFSC1408 (H.M.)). We would like to thank Dr. Yong Luo from the Analytical & Testing Center of Sichuan University for his help in testing.
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J.Y. proposed and supervised the project. W.L. and J.Y. conceived and designed the experiments. W.L., L.X., M.L., J.F., and S.Y. performed the experiments and analyzed the data. G.L., H.M., M.K., and J.Y. gave guidance on the data analysis and paper revision. Q.Z. helped to perform some experiments and analyze the data. W.L. and J.Y. wrote and revised the manuscript. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.
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Li, W., Xi, L., Lu, M. et al. Impedance-driven capacitance amplification in dielectric gradient all-fiber non-ionic electronic skin. Nat Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71173-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71173-w
