Center for Bio-Artificial Muscle and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul 133-791, Korea.
Nanotechnology. 2013 Apr 26;24(16):165401. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/24/16/165401. Epub 2013 Mar 27.
The prospect of electronic circuits that are stretchable and bendable promises tantalizing applications such as skin-like electronics, roll-up displays, conformable sensors and actuators, and lightweight solar cells. The preparation of highly conductive and highly extensible materials remains a challenge for mass production applications, such as free-standing films or printable composite inks. Here we present a nanocomposite material consisting of carbon nanotubes, ionic liquid, silver nanoparticles, and polystyrene-polyisoprene-polystyrene having a high electrical conductivity of 3700 S cm(-1) that can be stretched to 288% without permanent damage. The material is prepared as a concentrated dispersion suitable for simple processing into free-standing films. For the unstrained state, the measured thermal conductivity for the electronically conducting elastomeric nanoparticle film is relatively high and shows a non-metallic temperature dependence consistent with phonon transport, while the temperature dependence of electrical resistivity is metallic. We connect an electric fan to a DC power supply using the films to demonstrate their utility as an elastomeric electronic interconnect. The huge strain sensitivity and the very low temperature coefficient of resistivity suggest their applicability as strain sensors, including those that operate directly to control motors and other devices.
具有拉伸和弯曲性能的电子电路有望实现各种诱人的应用，如类皮肤电子产品、可卷绕显示器、可适应的传感器和致动器以及轻质太阳能电池。对于大规模生产应用，例如独立式薄膜或可打印复合油墨，制备具有高导电性和高可拉伸性的材料仍然是一个挑战。在这里，我们提出了一种由碳纳米管、离子液体、银纳米粒子和聚苯乙烯-聚异戊二烯-聚苯乙烯组成的纳米复合材料，其电导率高达 3700 S cm(-1)，可拉伸至 288%而不会造成永久损坏。该材料可作为浓缩分散体进行制备，适用于简单加工成独立式薄膜。在未拉伸状态下，测量得到的电子导电弹性体纳米颗粒薄膜的热导率相对较高，并且表现出与声子输运一致的非金属温度依赖性，而电阻率的温度依赖性是金属性的。我们使用这些薄膜将电风扇连接到直流电源上，以展示它们作为弹性体电子互连的实用性。巨大的应变灵敏度和极低的电阻率温度系数表明它们可作为应变传感器使用，包括那些可直接控制电机和其他设备的传感器。
