Join us for the CPE’s Christmas Symposium and Party!
From 14.30 in LT1 of Imperial College’s Business School we will have speakers covering topics from across the CPE research themes at our festive symposium.
- Keynote: Prof Luigi G. Occhipinti, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge Synthetic senses – natural interfaces: wearable bioelectronics to read and to assist the human body
- Jesús Barrio Hermida, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London Design of carbon-based single site catalysts for electrochemical reduction reactions
- Rebecca Stewart, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London How to make a Christmas jumper
- Salvador Eslava, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London Boosting solar fuel and chemical production with organic heterojunctions and hybrids
From 17.30 in SKEMPTON 307 for the CPE Christmas Party – join us for some drinks and snacks to mark the end of a successful year of research!
This is a ticketed event. Register by 3 December at CPE Christmas Symposium and Party – Fill in form
ABSTRACTS
Synthetic Senses – Natural Interfaces: wearable bioelectronics to read and to assist the human body
Luigi G. Occhipinti
Electrical Engineering Division, Department of Engineering
University of Cambridge http://www.eng.cam.ac.uk/profiles/lgo23
Wearable bioelectronic systems are emerging as key enablers of personalised diagnostics, rehabilitation, and healthcare assistance technologies. Their success depends on combining clinical-grade accuracy and reliability, energy-efficient electronic hardware, and materials and form factors that ensure comfort and seamless integration with the human body. Inspired from natural sensory processes, our research develops electronic platforms that both mimic and extend human sensing capabilities with improved performance and skin-compliant form factor.
In this talk, I will present recent advances in low-power wearable sensing systems and smart textiles, including silent speech interfaces1,2, a layered sensing platform combining surface electromyography, strain, and inertial data to improve closed-loop human-exoskeleton interaction3,4, along with advanced materials-based bioelectronic sensors combined with computationally and energy efficient AI architectures for monitoring sleep, biomechanics, and metabolic or physiological conditions5,6,7.
I will then introduce future directions in physiological monitoring through biomimetic electro- and mechano-dermal sensing8,9, the development of human body digital twins10, and the role of embodied AI architectures in next-generation assistive technologies for patients with acquired brain injury11, highlighting opportunities in energy harvesting12, ultra-low-power analogue/digital circuits, printed and biochemical sensors13, and neuromorphic hardware14.
References
1. C. Tang, M. Xu, W. Yi, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti* “Ultrasensitive Textile Strain Sensors Redefine Wearable Silent Speech Interfaces with High Machine Learning Efficiency”, npj Flex. Electron. 2024, 8, 27. DOI: 10.1038/s41528-024-00315-1
2. C. Tang, J. Mallah, D. Kazieczko, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti* “Wireless Silent Speech Interface Using Multi-Channel Textile EMG Sensors Integrated into Headphones”, IEEE Trans. Instrum. and Meas. 2025, 74, 4013710. DOI: 10.1109/TIM.2025.3583386
3. C. Tang, Y. Zhu, J. Mallah, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti*, “A layered smart sensing platform for physiologically informed human-exoskeleton interaction”, Nat. Commun. 2025 (under review). Preprint arXiv DOI: https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.12157
4. S. Ruhrberg Estévez, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti*, “Deep Learning for Motion Classification in Ankle Exoskeletons Using Surface EMG and IMU Signals”, Sci. Rep. 2025, 15, 38242. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-22103-1
5. C. Tang, W. Yi, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti* “A deep learning-enabled smart garment for accurate and versatile monitoring sleep conditions in daily life”, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (PNAS) U.S.A. 2025, 122, e2420498122. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2420498122
6. C. Tang, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti* “From brain to movement: Wearables-based motion intention prediction across the human nervous system”, Nano Energy 2023, 115, 108712. DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2023.108712 (Front Cover)
7. C. Liao, H. Wu, and L.G. Occhipinti* “Machine Learning-Assisted 3D Flexible Organic Transistor for High Accuracy Metabolites Analysis and other Clinical Applications”, Chemosensors 2024, 12, 174. DOI: 10.3390/chemosensors12090174
8. M. Xu, J. Zhang, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti* “Simultaneous Isotropic Omnidirectional Hypersensitive Strain Sensing and Deep Learning-Assisted Direction Recognition in a Biomimetic Stretchable Device”, Adv Mater 2025, 37, 2420322 (2025). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202420322 (Front Cover)
9. M. Xu, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti*, “Biomimetic Metamaterial-based Interface for Decoding Heterogeneous Mechanodermal Activity” Nat Commun 2025 (under review)
10. C. Tang, W. Yi, E. Occhipinti, Y. Dai, S. Gao, L. G. Occhipinti* “A Roadmap for the development of human body digital twins”, Nat Rev Electr Eng 2024, 1, 199. DOI: 10.1038/s44287-024-00025-w (Front Cover)
11. C. Tang, S. Gao, C. Li, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti* “Wearable intelligent throat enables natural speech in stroke patients with dysarthria”, Nat Commun 2025 (under review) Preprint in https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5469584/v1
12. M. Jabri, S. Masoumi, T.R. Kandukuri, and L.G. Occhipinti* “Flexible Thin-Film Thermoelectric Generators for Human Skin-Heat Harvesting: A Numerical Study”, Nano Energy 2024, 129 Part A, 110001. DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2024.110001
13. V. Pecunia, L. Petti, J. B. Andrews, et al. “Roadmap on printable electronic materials for next-generation sensors”. Nano Futures 2024, 8, 032001. DOI: 10.1088/2399-1984/ad36ff
14. S. Wang, et al. and L. G. Occhipinti* “Memristor-based adaptive neuromorphic perception in unstructured environments”. Nat Commun 2024, 15, 4671. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48908-8
Design of carbon-based single site catalysts for electrochemical reduction reactions
Jesús Barrio Hermida
Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
Metal single atoms coordinated in nitrogen doped carbon materials (M-NC) have attracted significant attention during the last decades in the field of electrocatalysis, particularly for the oxygen reduction and carbon dioxide conversion. In the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells, Fe-NCs represent the most promising alternative to scarce and expensive Platinum-group-metal catalysts,[1] while in CO2 electrolysers, Fe and Ni-NC exhibit catalytic activities comparable to those of Au or Ag.[2] However, their controlled synthesis and stability for practical applications remains challenging due to the high temperature pyrolysis step that results on Fe aggregation and formation of oxides and carbides.
Decoupling high-temperature pyrolysis from the metal coordination can circumvent the disadvantages of the high temperature pyrolysis.[3] In my group, we employ a versatile toolkit that includes organic building blocks,[4,5] porous organic polymers, and zeolitic imidazole frameworks,[6,7] together with ionothermal templating agents such as MgCl2.6H2O to tailor the micro- and mesoporosity of M-NCs. This strategy enables electrocatalysts with high active site density and enhanced electrochemical utilization, therefore boosting the electrocatalytic performance in challenging electrochemical reactions such as the oxygen reduction in fuel cells,[8] CO2 conversion,[9] or nitrate (NO3-) reduction to ammonia.[10]
References
[1] F. Jaouen, D. Jones, N. Coutard, V. Artero, P. Strasser, A. Kucernak, Johnson Matthey Technol. Rev. 2018, 62, 231.
[2] A. S. Varela, N. Ranjbar Sahraie, J. Steinberg, W. Ju, H.-S. Oh, P. Strasser, Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 10758.
[3] A. Mehmood, M. Gong, F. Jaouen, A. Roy, A. Zitolo, A. Khan, M. Sougrati, M. Primbs, A. M. Bonastre, D. Fongalland, G. Drazic, P. Strasser, A. Kucernak, Nat. Catal. 2022, 5, 311.
[4] J. Barrio, A. Pedersen, S. C. Sarma, A. Bagger, M. Gong, S. Favero, C.-X. Zhao, R. Garcia‐Serres, A. Y. Li, Q. Zhang, F. Jaouen, F. Maillard, A. Kucernak, I. E. L. Stephens, M.-M. Titirici, Adv. Mater. 2023, 35, 2211022.
[5] J. Barrio, A. Thomas, Adv. Sci. 2025, 12, e10137.
[6] J. Castells-Gil‡, J. Zhu‡, I. Itskou, E. H. Wolpert, R. D. Hunter, J. P. Tidey, A. Pedersen, E. Solvay, H. Tyrrell, C. Petit, J. Barrio, J. Mater. Chem. A 2025, 13, 28006.
[7] E. Petitdemange, J. Zhu, A. Pedersen, J. Parker, S. E. Balaghi, S. Li, S. Favero, J. I. Martínez, S. Haigh, M.-M. Titirici, A. Fischer, J. Barrio, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2025, n/a, e18944.
[8] J. Zhu, A. Pedersen, S. Kellner, R. D. Hunter, J. Barrio, Commun. Chem. 2025, 8, 27.
[9] S. C. Sarma, J. Barrio, A. Bagger, A. Pedersen, M. Gong, H. Luo, M. Wang, S. Favero, C. Zhao, Q. Zhang, A. Kucernak, M. Titirici, I. E. L. Stephens, Adv. Funct. Mater. 2023, 33, 2302468.
[10] D. S. Braga, A. Pedersen, M. Riyaz, J. Barrio, A. Bagger, I. T. Neckel, T. M. Mariano, M. E. G. Winkler, I. E. L. Stephens, M. Titirici, R. Nagao, Adv. Sci. 2025, 12, e10282.
How to make a Christmas jumper
Rebecca Stewart, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, SW7 2AZ, London, UK
Each year as we approach Christmas, “ugly Christmas sweaters” or jumpers start filling stores and online advertising. You can even find versions with embedded electronics that light up. This talk will step through the technologies needed to create Christmas jumpers – from the textiles to the lights – along with the subsequent environmental impacts of these ostensibly single-use items of clothing. We will close by looking towards the technological and material developments that may transform our future festive clothing.