Environmentally Stable and Stretchable Polymer Electronics Enabled By Surface-Tethered Nanostructured Molecular-Level Protection

Authors

Yu Zheng, Stanford UniversityFollow
Lukas Michalek, Stanford University
Qianhe Liu, Stanford University
Yilei Wu, Stanford University
Hyunjim Kim, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)
Philapon Sayavong, Stanford University
Weilai Yu, Stanford University
Donglai Zhong, Stanford University
Chuanzhen Zhao, Stanford University
Zhiao Yu, Stanford UniversityFollow
Jerika A. Chiong, Stanford UniversityFollow
Huaxin Gong, Stanford UniversityFollow
Xiaozhou Ji, Stanford University
Deyu Liu, Stanford University
Song Zhang, University of Southern MississippiFollow
Nathaniel Prine, University of Southern MississippiFollow
Zhitao Zhang, Stanford University
Weichen Wang, Stanford UniversityFollow
Jeffrey B.-H. Tok, Stanford UniversityFollow
Xiaodan Gu, University of Southern MississippiFollow
Yi Cui, Stanford University
Jiheong Kang, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST)Follow
Zhenan Bao, Stanford UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-15-2023

School

Polymer Science and Engineering

Abstract

Stretchable polymer semiconductors (PSCs) are essential for soft stretchable electronics. However, their environmental stability remains a longstanding concern. Here we report a surface-tethered stretchable molecular protecting layer to realize stretchable polymer electronics that are stable in direct contact with physiological fluids, containing water, ions and biofluids. This is achieved through the covalent functionalization of fluoroalkyl chains onto a stretchable PSC film surface to form densely packed nanostructures. The nanostructured fluorinated molecular protection layer (FMPL) improves the PSC operational stability over an extended period of 82 days and maintains its protection under mechanical deformation. We attribute the ability of FMPL to block water absorption and diffusion to its hydrophobicity and high fluorination surface density. The protection effect of the FMPL (~6 nm thickness) outperforms various micrometre-thick stretchable polymer encapsulants, leading to a stable PSC charge carrier mobility of ~1 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ in harsh environments such as in 85–90%-humidity air for 56 days or in water or artificial sweat for 42 days (as a benchmark, the unprotected PSC mobility degraded to 10⁻⁶ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ in the same period). The FMPL also improved the PSC stability against photo-oxidative degradation in air. Overall, we believe that our surface tethering of the nanostructured FMPL is a promising approach to achieve highly environmentally stable and stretchable polymer electronics.

Publication Title

Nature Nanotechnology

Recommended Citation

Zheng, Y., Michalek, L., Liu, Q., Wu, Y., Kim, H., Sayavong, P., Yu, W., Zhong, D., Zhao, C., Yu, Z., Chiong, J. A., Gong, H., Ji, X., Liu, D., Zhang, S., Prine, N., Zhang, Z., Wang, W., Tok, J. B., Gu, X., Cui, Y., Kang, J., Bao, Z. (2023). Environmentally Stable and Stretchable Polymer Electronics Enabled By Surface-Tethered Nanostructured Molecular-Level Protection. Nature Nanotechnology.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/21325