Work

Toward Sustainable Smart Packaging: Demonstration of Laser‐Induced Graphene Sensors on Orange‐Based Substrates

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT The development of sustainable electronic systems remains challenged by the dependence on petroleum‐derived substrates, nonbiodegradable conductive materials, and multi‐step fabrication processes. Here, orange peel waste is directly transformed into electronically active laser‐induced graphene (LIG) architectures through laser processing of biomass‐derived bioplastic films. Unlike conventional smart packaging approaches relying on conductive layers, the proposed strategy converts the surface of the bioplastic into porous conductive graphitic networks without requiring conductive inks, metallic coatings, or transfer steps. Structural and chemical characterization confirmed the successful formation of LIG structures with increased sp 2 carbon content and conductive networks. Under optimized laser conditions, conductive patterns with low sheet resistance values were achieved. The resulting platform enabled direct fabrication of capacitive and resistive environmental sensors on biomass films. The capacitive devices exhibited stable thermal behavior together with pronounced humidity sensitivity, while the resistive sensors showed coupled thermo‐hygrometric responses with maximum thermal sensitivity at intermediate humidity conditions. These results demonstrate that agro‐industrial waste can function not only as a biodegradable substrate, but also as an electronically active material compatible with laser‐written carbon electronics. More broadly, this work establishes a scalable route toward sustainable electronic systems and next‐generation smart packaging technologies within a circular economy framework.

Source: Advanced Electronic Materials

DOI: 10.1002/aelm.70616