Carbon-based conductive rubber composite for 3D printed flexible strain sensors

Polymeric-based flexible electronic devices are in high demand due to its wide range of applications. Natural rubber (NR) shows a great potential as matrix phase for flexible conductive polymer composites with its high elasticity and fatigue resistance. In this study, a new 3D printable conductive NR (CNR) composite was developed for strain sensor applications. Different contents of conductive carbon black (CCB) were mixed with NR latex to investigate the effect of the filler content on electrical and mechanical properties of the composites. The best-known CNR composite with the CCB content of 12 phr was selected in order to produce the feedstock for the stereolithography process (SLA). The morphological, electrical, and mechanical properties of cast and 3D-printed samples were investigated and compared. Although the 3D-printed CNR sample had slightly lower conductivity than the cast one, it possessed comparable tensile strength and elongation at break, with values of 12.4 MPa and 703%, respectively. In addition, electrical responses of the CNR samples were investigated to demonstrate the electromechanical property of the material as a strain sensor. The 3D-printed CNR sample exhibited the highest electromechanical sensitivity with a gauge factor (GF) of 361.4 (ε = 210%–300%) and showed good repeatability for 500 cycles. In conclusion, the development of this 3D printable functional material with great sensing capability will pave the way for innovative designs of personalized sensing textiles and other smart wearable devices.     

Filler-nanocellulose substrate for printed electronics: experiments and model approach to structure and conductivity

Composites made of inorganic filler particles and cellulose nanofibres can be applied as substrates for printed electronics. We have studied the structural properties of these substrates both experimentally and with particle-level modeling approach. Our model describes the skeleton structure formed by pigment particles of varied shapes and size distributions. Nanocellulose is assumed to fill voids of the structure. The model simulations predict quite well the relative changes in measured density, porosity and roughness for kaolin and precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) pigments. Measured roughness turns out to be higher for kaolin than for PCC. Yet, the measured conductivity of printed lines on kaolin surface is higher than the conductivity on the PCC surface. The simulations reveal a more open surface pore structure for PCC than for kaolin, which leads to stronger absorption of the silver ink, and thus explains the differences in the measured conductivities.     

Polyimides for electronics applications

A variety of options exists for lithographically defining polyimides for microelectronics applications. The two investigated here, photosensitive polyimide and wet etching of low-stress polyimides, offer lower cost, higher throughput solutions compared with dry etch processes. Via sizes of less than 25 μm and film thicknesses of greater than 14 μm are difficult to process using these techniques: however, for applications such as interlayer dielectrics for high-density packaging or solder masks for flip chip die attachment, these limitations may not be insurmountable. Photosensitive polyimide can be patterned with fewer steps, but the overall quality of the film in terms of surface planarity and residual stress is not as good as wet etching of conventional polyimide.     

Synthesis of colloidal silver nanoparticles for printed electronics

Colloidal silver particles were successfully prepared by wet chemical synthesis. The pure single phase of silver was confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Transmission electron microscope categorized that the diameters of particles were 100 and 20 nm, depending on the molecular weight of the PVP stabilizer. A schematic drawing model was used to predict the packing efficiency of 1:1 wt% of two mixtures. The mixture of silver solution was deposited as a thin solid film by a desktop inkjet printer. Scanning electron microscope showed that two different sizes of silver particles give higher densely packed structure than the film of single particle size. When a 0–20 V voltage was applied, the current density reached was 0.10 J/cm², suggesting that the silver film has potential to be applied as a cathode layer in organic light emitting diode (OLED) devices.     

Solution processed aluminum paper for flexible electronics

As an alternative to vacuum deposition, preparation of highly conductive papers with aluminum (Al) features is successfully achieved by the solution process consisting of Al precursor ink (AlH(3){O(C(4)H(9))(2)}) and low temperature stamping process performed at 110 °C without any serious hydroxylation and oxidation problems. Al features formed on several kinds of paper substrates (calendar, magazine, and inkjet printing paper substrates) are less than ～60 nm thick, and their electrical conductivities were found to be as good as thermally evaporated Al film or even better (≤2 Ω/□). Strong adhesion of Al features to paper substrates and their excellent flexibility are also experimentally confirmed by TEM observation and mechanical tests, such as tape and bending tests. The solution processed Al features on paper substrates show different electrical and mechanical performance depending on the paper type, and inkjet printing paper is found to be the best substrate with high and stable electrical and mechanical properties. The Al conductive papers produced by the solution process may be applicable in disposal paper electronics.     

Cruciform pi-systems for molecular electronics applications

This study details a modular and general synthesis of a new class of molecules consisting of cruciform pi-systems. The key to synthesizing these molecules was an unprecedented double Staudinger cyclization. Once formed, these rigid compounds assemble into ordered monolayer films on metal and metal oxide surfaces to orient their conjugated, bis-phenyloxazole subunits upright. This surface orientation is enforced by the external phenyl substituents that are out of the ring plane, thus preventing the prone conformation.     

Inorganic oxide core, polymer shell nanocomposite as a high K gate dielectric for flexible electronics applications

Organic/inorganic core shell nanoparticles have been synthesized using high K TiO(2) as the core nanoparticle, and polystyrene as the shell. This material is easy to process and forms transparent continuous thin films, which exhibit a dielectric constant enhancement of over 3 times that of bulk polystyrene. This new dielectric material has been incorporated into capacitors and thin film transistors (TFTs). Mobilities approaching 0.2 cm(2)/V.s have been measured for pentacene TFTs incorporating the new TiO(2) polystyrene nanostructured gate dielectric, indicating good surface properties for pentacene film growth. This novel strategy for generating high K flexible gate dielectrics will be of value in improving organic and flexible electronic device performance.     

Three-dimensionally printed electrochemical systems for biomedical analytical applications

Additive manufacturing (3D-printing) has revolutionized many areas of the manufacturing. Three-dimensional printing offers enormous potential to biomedical devices, including electroanalytical systems. The motivation for 3D printing is rapid prototyping and decentralized customizable fabrication of bioanalytical systems in the diverse and remote areas of the globe. We overview the recent trends and discuss the fabrication and applications of 3D printed polymer/carbon and metal electrodes and whole electrochemical systems for biomedical applications and DNA detection. We show that sky is the limit and envision whole analytical systems, including electronics, to be 3D printed in the future for diagnostics in the remote areas of the globe.     

Facile synthesis of silver nanoparticles useful for fabrication of high-conductivity elements for printed electronics

A facile synthesis of stable silver nanoparticles having a particle size of <10 nm is described. The synthesis involved reduction of silver acetate with a substituted hydrazine, such as PhNHNH2, in the presence of a 1-alkylamine, such as C16H33NH2, in toluene at 25-60 degrees C. Spin-coated thin films or printed electronic features of alkylamine-stabilized silver nanoparticles could be easily converted at 120-160 degrees C into highly conductive films or elements with conductivity of 2-4 x 104 S cm-1. Organic thin-film transistors with printed silver source/drain electrodes of this nature exhibited field-effect transistor properties which are similar to those of the devices using vacuum-deposited silver electrodes.     

Green approach to prepare silver nanoink with potentially high conductivity for printed electronics

A new strategy was described for green preparation of silver nanoink with potentially high conductivity for printed electronics. Silver nanoparticles in the ink were characterized by visible ultraviolet spectrophotometer (UV‐vis), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), size distribution analysis (SDA), X‐Ray Diffractomer (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Silver thin film was investigated by SEM and 4‐point probe. It can be found that silver nanoparticles are of small sizes about 2.1 ± 0.5 nm in diameter, with a low melting point of about 105°. It also can be concluded that continuous silver thin film has formed, and an integrated conductive track has been fabricated. Especially, when the solid content is up to 9 wt.% and the sintering condition is 200° for 30 minutes in air, the resistivity can decrease to 8.1 µΩ·cm, 4.9 times the bulk silver resistivity. In addition, the application of silver nanoink in conductive patterns on polyimide (PI) substrate was also studied by inkjet printing. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Layer-by-layer assembly and UV photoreduction of graphene-polyoxometalate composite films for electronics

Graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets and polyoxometalate clusters, H(3)PW(12)O(40) (PW), were co-assembled into multilayer films via electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly. Under UV irradiation, a photoreduction reaction took place in the films which converted GO to reduced GO (rGO) due to the photocatalytic activity of PW clusters. By this means, uniform and large-area composite films based on rGO were fabricated with precisely controlled thickness on various substrates such as quartz, silicon, and plastic supports. We further fabricated field effect transistors based on the composite films, which exhibited typical ambipolar features and good transport properties for both holes and electrons. The on/off ratios and the charge carrier mobilities of the transistors depend on the number of deposited layers and can be controlled easily. Furthermore, we used photomasks to produce conductive patterns of rGO domains on the films, which served as efficient microelectrodes for photodetector devices.     

Effect of low-temperature processing on dry film photoresist properties for flexible electronics

This study presents the mechanical characterization of the dry film photoresist PerMX and its adhesion properties when laminated onto Kapton® E (PI) and Melinex® ST506 (PET). Additionally, the processing temperature, the adhesion strength, and the neutral plane position are investigated and optimized. A relatively low-temperature (85 °C) process is developed to protect the integrity of the polymers with low glass transition temperature and reduce the thermal mismatch stress. Reduction in processing temperature led to a decrement in the adhesion strength. To counteract this unwanted effect, surface treatments (oxygen plasma) are performed on the polymer surface before lamination. Using the latter techniques, adhesion of PerMX to PET (hard bake: 1 h at 85 °C) is increased from 0.07 to 0.26 N mm⁻¹ (variation of 270%). Finally, the mechanical robustness is investigated and increased by tuning the position of the neutral plane, after 50,000 bending cycles and a radius of curvature of 2.5 mm. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013     

Bismuth nanowires for potential applications in nanoscale electronics technology.

Nanowires of bismuth with diameters ranging from 10 to 200 nm and lengths of 50 microm have been synthesized by a pressure injection method. Nanostructural and chemical compositional studies using environmental and high resolution transmission electron microscopy with electron stimulated energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy have revealed essentially single crystal nanowires. The high resolution studies have shown that the nanowires contain amorphous Bi-oxide layers of a few nanometers on the surface. In situ environmental high resolution transmission electron microscopy (environmental-HRTEM) studies at the atomic level, in controlled hydrogen and other reducing gas environments at high temperatures demonstrate that gas reduction can be successfully applied to remove th oxide nanolayers and to maintain the dimensional and structural uniformity of the nanowires, which is key to attaining low electrical contact resistance.     

Corannulene derivatives for organic electronics: From molecular engineering to applications

This paper intends to provide an overview for using corannulene derivatives in organic electronics such as organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), organic solar cells (OSCs), and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). We highlight the rational design strategies, tuning molecular orbital energy levels and arrangement in single crystals of corannulenes. The topological structure and properties of corannulene make it a unique candidate for organic electronics.     

Recent advances in flexible and stretchable electronics, sensors and power sources

There has been ongoing keen interest to mold electronic devices into desired shapes and be laid on desired configurable surfaces. In specific, the ability to design materials that can bend, twist, compress and stretch repeatedly, while still able to maintain its full capability as conductors or electrodes, has led to numerous efforts to develop flexible and stretchable (bio)devices that are both technologically challenging and environmentally friendly (e.g. biodegradable). In this review, we highlight several recent significant results that have made impacts toward the field of flexible and stretchable electronics, sensors and power sources.     

3D printed polylactic acid nanocomposite scaffolds for tissue engineering applications

In this study, biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) and PLA nanocomposite scaffolds reinforced with magnetic and conductive fillers, were processed via fused filament fabrication additive manufacturing and their bioactivity and biodegradation characteristics were examined. Porous 3D architectures with 50% bulk porosity were 3D printed, and their physicochemical properties were evaluated. Thermal analysis confirmed the presence of ~18 wt% of carbon nanostructures (CNF and GNP; nowonwards CNF) and ~37 wt% of magnetic iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) particles in the filaments. The in vitro degradation tests of scaffolds showed porous and fractured struts after 2 and 4 weeks of immersion in DMEM respectively, although a negligible weight loss is observed. Greater extent of degradation is observed in PLA with magnetic fillers followed by PLA with conductive fillers and neat PLA. In vitro bioactivity study of scaffolds indicate enhancement from ~2.9% (PLA) to ~5.32% (PLA/CNF) and ~ 3.12% (PLA/Fe₂O₃). Stiffness calculated from the compression tests showed decrease from ~680 MPa (PLA) to 533 MPa and 425 MPa for PLA/CNF and PLA/Fe₂O₃ respectively. Enhanced bioactivity and faster biodegradation response of PLA nanocomposites with conductive fillers make them a potential candidate for tissue engineering applications such as scaffold bone replacement and regeneration.