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

doi:10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c02007

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 for this work

Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e)
Universidade do Porto
PulseForge
Holst Centre

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

32 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 □^-1 mil^-1. Furthermore, photonic annealing at several energy levels is used to decrease the sheet resistance to <10 Ω □^-1 mil^-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 language	English
Pages (from-to)	8031-8042
Journal	Chemistry of Materials
Volume	34
Issue number	17
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c02007
Publication status	Published - 13 Sept 2022
MoE publication type	A1 Journal article-refereed

Funding

The authors acknowledge funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement 881603 (Graphene Flagship Core3), 785219 (Graphene Flagship Core2) and 696656 (Graphene Flagship Core1).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Access to Document

10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c02007Licence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{d1df1d311b7448e891203a86634214e5,

title = "Printed Stretchable Graphene Conductors for Wearable Technology",

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 □-1 mil-1. Furthermore, photonic annealing at several energy levels is used to decrease the sheet resistance to <10 Ω □-1 mil-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. ",

author = "\{Van Hazendonk\}, \{Laura S.\} and Pinto, \{Artur M.\} and Kirill Arapov and Nikhil Pillai and Beurskens, \{Michiel R.C.\} and Teunissen, \{Jean Pierre\} and Asko Sneck and Maria Smolander and Rentrop, \{Corne H.A.\} and Bouten, \{Piet C.P.\} and Heiner Friedrich",

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doi = "10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c02007",

language = "English",

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AU - Van Hazendonk, Laura S.

AU - Pinto, Artur M.

AU - Arapov, Kirill

AU - Pillai, Nikhil

AU - Beurskens, Michiel R.C.

AU - Teunissen, Jean Pierre

AU - Sneck, Asko

AU - Smolander, Maria

AU - Rentrop, Corne H.A.

AU - Bouten, Piet C.P.

AU - Friedrich, Heiner

PY - 2022/9/13

Y1 - 2022/9/13

N2 - 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 □-1 mil-1. Furthermore, photonic annealing at several energy levels is used to decrease the sheet resistance to <10 Ω □-1 mil-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.

AB - 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 □-1 mil-1. Furthermore, photonic annealing at several energy levels is used to decrease the sheet resistance to <10 Ω □-1 mil-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.

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Printed Stretchable Graphene Conductors for Wearable Technology

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

GrapheneCore3: Graphene Flagship Core Project 3

GrapheneCore2: Graphene Flagship Core Project 2

GrapheneCore1: Graphene-based disruptive technologies

Cite this

Printed Stretchable Graphene Conductors for Wearable Technology

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Projects

GrapheneCore3: Graphene Flagship Core Project 3

GrapheneCore2: Graphene Flagship Core Project 2

GrapheneCore1: Graphene-based disruptive technologies

Cite this