Bioelectronics demand stretchable devices with steady performance under deformation. By combining an amphiphilic organic semiconducting polymer with tailored film processing, highly stretchable ...organic electrochemical transistors are demonstrated.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
The conducting polymer polyethylenedioxythiophene doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) has become one of the most successful organic conductive materials due to its high air stability, high ...electrical conductivity, and biocompatibility. In recent years, a great deal of attention has been paid to its fundamental physicochemical properties, but its healability has not been explored in depth. This communication reports the first observation of mechanical and electrical healability of PEDOT:PSS thin films. Upon reaching a certain thickness (about 1 µm), PEDOT:PSS thin films damaged with a sharp blade can be electrically healed by simply wetting the damaged area with water. The process is rapid, with a response time on the order of 150 ms. Significantly, after being wetted the films are transformed into autonomic self‐healing materials without the need of external stimulation. This work reveals a new property of PEDOT:PSS and enables its immediate use in flexible and biocompatible electronics, such as electronic skin and bioimplanted electronics, placing conducting polymers on the front line for healing applications in electronics.
Films of the conducting polymer polyethylenedioxythiophene doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) can be rapidly healed after multiple damages upon the addition of water. The healed damage can be much larger than the film thickness. Films wet with water act as autonomic self‐healing conductors. Healable PEDOT:PSS films can be exploited for electronic skin, self‐healing circuits, water‐enabled sensors, and wearable electronics.
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The fabrication of stretchable electronic devices is presently rather challenging on account of both the limited number of materials showing the desired combination of mechanical and electrical ...properties and the lack of techniques to process and pattern them. Here we report on a fast and reliable transfer patterning process to fabricate high-resolution metal microelectrodes on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by using ultrathin Parylene films (2 μm thick). By combining transfer patterning of metal electrodes with orthogonal patterning of the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) on a prestretched PDMS substrate and a biocompatible “cut and paste” hydrogel, we demonstrated a fully stretchable organic electrochemical transistor, relevant for wearable electronics, biosensors, and surface electrodes to monitor body conditions.
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Self‐healing electronic materials are of primary interest for bioelectronics and sustainable electronics. In this work, autonomic self‐healing of films obtained from mixtures of the conducting ...polymer poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) is reported. The presence of PEG in PEDOT:PSS films decreases the elastic modulus and increases the elongation at break, thus leading to a softer material with enhanced self‐healing characteristics. In situ imaging of the cutting/healing process shows that the healing mechanism is likely due to flowing back of the material to the damaged area right after the cutting.
Films processed from mixtures of poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and polyethylene glycol show autonomic self‐healing when cut with a sharp blade.
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Summary
During the past decade, melanins and melanogenesis have attracted growing interest for a broad range of biomedical and technological applications. The burst of polydopamine‐based ...multifunctional coatings in materials science is just one example, and the list may be expanded to include melanin thin films for organic electronics and bioelectronics, drug delivery systems, functional nanoparticles and biointerfaces, sunscreens, environmental remediation devices. Despite considerable advances, applied research on melanins and melanogenesis is still far from being mature. A closer intersectoral interaction between research centers is essential to raise the interests and increase the awareness of the biomedical, biomaterials science and hi‐tech sectors of the manifold opportunities offered by pigment cells and related metabolic pathways. Starting from a survey of biological roles and functions, the present review aims at providing an interdisciplinary perspective of melanin pigments and related pathway with a view to showing how it is possible to translate current knowledge about physical and chemical properties and control mechanisms into new bioinspired solutions for biomedical, dermocosmetic, and technological applications.
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BFBNIB, DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
An overview of the tremendous potential of organic electronics, concentrating on those emerging topics and technologies that will form the focus of research over the next five to ten years. The young ...and energetic team of editors with an excellent research track record has brought together internationally renowned authors to review up-and-coming topics, some for the first time, such as organic spintronics, iontronics, light emitting transistors, organic sensors and advanced structural analysis. As a result, this book serves the needs of experienced researchers in organic electronics, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers, as well as scientists active in closely related fields, including organic chemical synthesis, thin film growth and biomaterials. Cover Figure: With kind permission of Matitaccia.
The electrical properties of eumelanin, a ubiquitous natural pigment, have fascinated scientists since the late 1960s. For several decades, the hydration-dependent electrical properties of eumelanin ...have mainly been interpreted within the amorphous semiconductor model. Recent works undermined this paradigm. Here we study protonic and electronic charge carrier transport in hydrated eumelanin in thin film form. Thin films are ideal candidates for these studies since they are readily accessible to chemical and morphological characterization and potentially amenable to device applications. Current–voltage (I-V) measurements, transient current measurements with proton-transparent electrodes, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements are reported and correlated with the results of the chemical characterization of the films, performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. We show that the electrical response of hydrated eumelanin films is dominated by ionic conduction (10–4–10–3 S cm–1), largely attributable to protons, and electrochemical processes. To propose an explanation for the electrical response of hydrated eumelanin films as observed by EIS and I-V, we considered the interplay of proton migration, redox processes, and electronic transport. These new insights improve the current understanding of the charge carrier transport properties of eumelanin opening the possibility to assess the potential of eumelanin for organic bioelectronic applications, e.g. protonic devices and implantable electrodes, and to advance the knowledge on the functions of eumelanin in biological systems.
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Melanin-based flexible supercapacitors Kumar, Prajwal; Di Mauro, Eduardo; Zhang, Shiming ...
Journal of materials chemistry. C, Materials for optical and electronic devices,
01/2016, Volume:
4, Issue:
40
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Biocompatible and biodegradable materials that store electrochemical energy are attractive candidates for applications in bioelectronics and electronics for everywhere. Eumelanin is a ubiquitous ...biopigment in flora and fauna. It exhibits strong broad-band UV-visible absorption, metal chelation as well as good thermal and photo-stability. Eumelanin is based on 5,6-dihydroxyindole (DHI) and 5,6-dihydroxyindole carboxylic acid (DHICA) building blocks, present in different redox forms (hydroxyquinone, semiquinone and quinone). The synergy between the redox activity of the building blocks and the capability of several of their functionalities to reversibly bind cations constitutes the foundation for the use of melanin in pseudocapacitive energy storage systems. In this work, we report on the energy storage properties of eumelanin in supercapacitor configuration. Initially, a gravimetric specific capacitance as high as 167 F g −1 (specific capacity of 24 mA h g −1 ) was observed for eumelanin on carbon paper electrodes, in aqueous electrolytes. A maximum power density of up to 20 mW cm −2 was deduced for the corresponding melanin supercapacitors. Capitalizing on these results, we used an unconventional patterning approach to fabricate binder-free flexible micro-supercapacitors on plastic substrates. Our results demonstrate that melanin is a valid candidate for future supercapacitor electrodes. The biocompatibility and biodegradability featured by eumelanin, combined with its easy availability and room temperature processing, make it an extremely attractive material for environmentally and human friendly energy storage solutions.
Organic electrochemical transistors based on the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) are of interest for several bioelectronic ...applications. In this letter, we investigate the changes induced by immersion of PEDOT:PSS films, processed by spin coating from different mixtures, in water and other solvents of different polarities. We found that the film thickness decreases upon immersion in polar solvents, while the electrical conductivity remains unchanged. The decrease in film thickness is minimized via the addition of a cross-linking agent to the mixture used for the spin coating of the films.