Work

Biodegradable Polymeric Materials in Degradable Electronic Devices

Year: 2018

Type: review

Abstract: Biodegradable electronics have great potential to reduce the environmental footprint of devices and enable advanced health monitoring and therapeutic technologies. Complex biodegradable electronics require biodegradable substrates, insulators, conductors, and semiconductors, all of which comprise the fundamental building blocks of devices. This review will survey recent trends in the strategies used to fabricate biodegradable forms of each of these components. Polymers that can disintegrate without full chemical breakdown (type I), as well as those that can be recycled into monomeric and oligomeric building blocks (type II), will be discussed. Type I degradation is typically achieved with engineering and material science based strategies, whereas type II degradation often requires deliberate synthetic approaches. Notably, unconventional degradable linkages capable of maintaining long-range conjugation have been relatively unexplored, yet may enable fully biodegradable conductors and semiconductors with uncompromised electrical properties. While substantial progress has been made in developing degradable device components, the electrical and mechanical properties of these materials must be improved before fully degradable complex electronics can be realized.

Source: ACS Central Science

DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.7b00595

Authors: Vivian R. Feig, Helen Tran, Zhenan Bao

Institution: Stanford University

Language: English

Topic: biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties

Subfield: Biomaterials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Stanford University, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Army Research Office