Printed Stretchable Graphene Conductors for Wearable Technology

Laura S. Van Hazendonk, Artur M. Pinto, Kirill Arapov, Nikhil Pillai, Michiel R.C. Beurskens, Jean Pierre Teunissen, Asko Sneck, Maria Smolander, Corne H.A. Rentrop, Piet C.P. Bouten, Heiner Friedrich (Corresponding Author)

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Skin-compatible printed stretchable conductors that combine a low gauge factor with a high durability over many strain cycles are still a great challenge. Here, a graphene nanoplatelet-based colloidal ink utilizing a skin-compatible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) binder with adjustable rheology is developed. Stretchable conductors that remain conductive even under 100% strain and demonstrate high fatigue resistance to cyclic strains of 20-50% are realized via printing on TPU. The sheet resistances of these conductors after drying at 120 °C are as low as 34 ω □ -1mil -1. Furthermore, photonic annealing at several energy levels is used to decrease the sheet resistance to <10 ω □ -1mil -1, with stretchability and fatigue resistance being preserved and tunable. The high conductivity, stretchability, and cyclic stability of printed tracks having excellent feature definition in combination with scalable ink production and adjustable rheology bring the high-volume manufacturing of stretchable wearables into scope.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)8031-8042
Number of pages12
JournalChemistry of Materials
Volume34
Issue number17
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Sept 2022
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

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