Materials researched for electronics
Wearable electronics from cellulose composites
A review of bacterial-cellulose composites used in wearable electronics.
As reported in: Guan, Guo (2022). Flexible, high-strength, and porous nano-nano composites based on bacterial cellulose for wearable electronics: a review. Soft Science. doi:10.20517/ss.2021.19
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Fungal skin as a circuit substrate
Grown fungal skin was explored as a flexible, biodegradable base layer for electronic circuits ("MycelioTronics").
Built / tested: flexible circuit substrates, demonstration electronics
As reported in: Danninger, Pruckner, Holzinger et al. (2022). MycelioTronics: Fungal mycelium skin for sustainable electronics. Science Advances. doi:10.1126/sciadv.add7118
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Shellac ink for printed electronics
A carbon-loaded shellac ink for disposable printed electronics.
Built / tested: printed circuits
As reported in: Poulin, Aeby, Siqueira et al. (2021). Versatile carbon-loaded shellac ink for disposable printed electronics. Scientific Reports. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-03075-4
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Silk in flexible electronics
A review of silk fibroin used in flexible and wearable electronic devices.
As reported in: Wen, Sun, Huang et al. (2021). Recent progress in silk fibroin-based flexible electronics. Microsystems & Nanoengineering. doi:10.1038/s41378-021-00261-2
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Wood carbon with MXene aerogel
Ultra-light MXene aerogel/wood-derived porous carbon composites for electromagnetic interference shielding.
Built / tested: EMI shields
As reported in: Liang, Qiu, Song et al. (2020). Ultra-light MXene aerogel/wood-derived porous carbon composites with wall-like “mortar/brick” structures for electromagnetic interference shielding. Science Bulletin. doi:10.1016/j.scib.2020.02.009
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Casein hydrogel strain sensors
Wearable strain sensors using tough, adhesive, anti-freezing casein-driven hydrogels to monitor motion.
Built / tested: strain sensors
As reported in: Guan, Yan, Liu et al. (2019). Wearable strain sensors based on casein-driven tough, adhesive and anti-freezing hydrogels for monitoring human-motion. Journal of Materials Chemistry B. doi:10.1039/c9tb01340g
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Nacre-inspired shielding paper
A nacre-inspired MXene/cellulose nanofibre composite paper that is strong, tough and shields electromagnetic interference.
Built / tested: EMI shielding paper
As reported in: Cao, Chen, Zhu et al. (2018). Binary Strengthening and Toughening of MXene/Cellulose Nanofiber Composite Paper with Nacre-Inspired Structure and Superior Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Properties. ACS Nano. doi:10.1021/acsnano.8b00997
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DNA Fountain
Erlich and Zielinski developed a coding method that stores data in DNA near its theoretical capacity.
As reported in: Erlich, Zielinski (2017). DNA Fountain enables a robust and efficient storage architecture. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aaj2038
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Soft electronics with liquid metals
Dickey reviewed stretchable and soft electronics built using liquid metals.
Built / tested: stretchable electronics
As reported in: Dickey (2017). Stretchable and Soft Electronics using Liquid Metals. Advanced Materials. doi:10.1002/adma.201606425
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Ultrasonic neural dust
Seo and colleagues recorded nerve signals in rats with tiny wireless sensors powered by ultrasound.
Built / tested: neural dust
As reported in: Seo, Neely, Shen et al. (2016). Wireless Recording in the Peripheral Nervous System with Ultrasonic Neural Dust. Neuron. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2016.06.034
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Wood-derived materials review
A review of wood-derived materials for green electronics, biological devices and energy.
As reported in: Zhu, Luo, Ciesielski et al. (2016). Wood-Derived Materials for Green Electronics, Biological Devices, and Energy Applications. Chemical Reviews. doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.6b00225
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Digital mechanoreceptor
Tee and colleagues made a skin-like sensor that sends pressure signals as nerve-like pulses.
As reported in: Tee, Chortos, Berndt et al. (2015). A skin-inspired organic digital mechanoreceptor. Science. doi:10.1126/science.aaa9306
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Cephalopod-inspired camouflage skin
Yu and colleagues built flexible optoelectronic sheets that sense light and change pattern like cephalopod skin.
Built / tested: adaptive camouflage sheet
As reported in: Yu, Li, Zhang et al. (2014). Adaptive optoelectronic camouflage systems with designs inspired by cephalopod skins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.1410494111
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Perovskite LEDs
Bright light-emitting diodes based on organometal halide perovskite.
Built / tested: LEDs
As reported in: Tan, Moghaddam, Lai et al. (2014). Bright light-emitting diodes based on organometal halide perovskite. Nature Nanotechnology. doi:10.1038/nnano.2014.149
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Practical DNA storage
Goldman and colleagues stored and read back files including text, images, and audio in DNA.
As reported in: Goldman, Bertone, Chen et al. (2013). Towards practical, high-capacity, low-maintenance information storage in synthesized DNA. Nature. doi:10.1038/nature11875
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History of e-skin
Hammock and colleagues reviewed the history and design of electronic skin.
As reported in: Hammock, Chortos, Tee et al. (2013). 25th Anniversary Article: The Evolution of Electronic Skin (E‐Skin): A Brief History, Design Considerations, and Recent Progress. Advanced Materials. doi:10.1002/adma.201302240
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Storing a book in DNA
Church, Gao, and Kosuri encoded a book in DNA as digital storage.
Built / tested: DNA data storage
As reported in: Church, Gao, Kosuri (2012). Next-Generation Digital Information Storage in DNA. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1226355
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Conductive cellulose–polyaniline membrane
Combined bacterial cellulose with a conductive polymer to make a flexible conducting membrane.
Built / tested: conductive membranes
As reported in: Hu, Chen, Yang et al. (2011). Flexible Electrically Conductive Nanocomposite Membrane Based on Bacterial Cellulose and Polyaniline. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B. doi:10.1021/jp204422v
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Metallic-like conductivity
Malvankar and colleagues measured metal-like conductivity in Geobacter nanowire networks.
As reported in: Malvankar, Vargas, Nevin et al. (2011). Tunable metallic-like conductivity in microbial nanowire networks. Nature Nanotechnology. doi:10.1038/nnano.2011.119
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Epidermal electronics
Kim and colleagues made skin-like electronics that stick to the skin like a temporary tattoo.
Built / tested: electronic tattoo
As reported in: Kim, Lu, Ma et al. (2011). Epidermal Electronics. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1206157
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Highly sensitive pressure sensors
Mannsfeld and colleagues made flexible sensors with microstructured rubber that detect very light touch.
As reported in: Mannsfeld, Tee, Stoltenberg et al. (2010). Highly sensitive flexible pressure sensors with microstructured rubber dielectric layers. Nature Materials. doi:10.1038/nmat2834
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Dissolvable silk electronics
Kim and colleagues built ultrathin electronics on silk films that dissolve and wrap onto brain tissue.
Built / tested: silk-supported electrode array
As reported in: Kim, Viventi, Amsden et al. (2010). Dissolvable films of silk fibroin for ultrathin conformal bio-integrated electronics. Nature Materials. doi:10.1038/nmat2745
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Dissolvable silk films carrying ultrathin electronics
Used thin silk films as a dissolvable backing that lets very thin electronics conform to soft, curved surfaces.
Built / tested: conformal electrode arrays
As reported in: Kim, Viventi, Amsden et al. (2010). Dissolvable films of silk fibroin for ultrathin conformal bio-integrated electronics. Nature Materials. doi:10.1038/nmat2745
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EGaIn liquid metal
Dickey and colleagues showed eutectic gallium-indium forms a thin skin that lets the liquid hold shapes in tiny channels.
Built / tested: stretchable wires
As reported in: Dickey, Chiechi, Larsen et al. (2008). Eutectic Gallium‐Indium (EGaIn): A Liquid Metal Alloy for the Formation of Stable Structures in Microchannels at Room Temperature. Advanced Functional Materials. doi:10.1002/adfm.200701216
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Flexible pressure sensor skin for robots
Someya and colleagues built a large flexible pressure-sensing sheet from organic transistors as artificial skin.
Built / tested: robot e-skin
As reported in: Someya, Sekitani, Iba et al. (2004). A large-area, flexible pressure sensor matrix with organic field-effect transistors for artificial skin applications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi:10.1073/pnas.0401918101
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