TY - JOUR
T1 - Fatigue-free, superstretchable, transparent, and biocompatible metal electrodes
AU - Guo, Chuan Fei
AU - Liu, Qihan
AU - Wang, Guohui
AU - Wang, Yecheng
AU - Shi, Zhengzheng
AU - Suo, Zhigang
AU - Chu, Ching Wu
AU - Ren, Zhifeng
PY - 2015/10/6
Y1 - 2015/10/6
N2 - Next-generation flexible electronics require highly stretchable and transparent electrodes. Few electronic conductors are both transparent and stretchable, and even fewer can be cyclically stretched to a large strain without causing fatigue. Fatigue, which is often an issue of strained materials causing failure at low strain levels of cyclic loading, is detrimental to materials under repeated loads in practical applications. Here we show that optimizing topology and/or tuning adhesion of metal nanomeshes can significantly improve stretchability and eliminate strain fatigue. The ligaments in an Au nanomesh on a slippery substrate can locally shift to relax stress upon stretching and return to the original configuration when stress is removed. The Au nanomesh keeps a low sheet resistance and high transparency, comparable to those of strain-free indium tin oxide films, when the nanomesh is stretched to a strain of 300%, or shows no fatigue after 50,000 stretches to a strain up to 150%. Moreover, the Au nanomesh is biocompatible and penetrable to biomacromolecules in fluid. The superstretchable transparent conductors are highly desirable for stretchable photoelectronics, electronic skins, and implantable electronics.
AB - Next-generation flexible electronics require highly stretchable and transparent electrodes. Few electronic conductors are both transparent and stretchable, and even fewer can be cyclically stretched to a large strain without causing fatigue. Fatigue, which is often an issue of strained materials causing failure at low strain levels of cyclic loading, is detrimental to materials under repeated loads in practical applications. Here we show that optimizing topology and/or tuning adhesion of metal nanomeshes can significantly improve stretchability and eliminate strain fatigue. The ligaments in an Au nanomesh on a slippery substrate can locally shift to relax stress upon stretching and return to the original configuration when stress is removed. The Au nanomesh keeps a low sheet resistance and high transparency, comparable to those of strain-free indium tin oxide films, when the nanomesh is stretched to a strain of 300%, or shows no fatigue after 50,000 stretches to a strain up to 150%. Moreover, the Au nanomesh is biocompatible and penetrable to biomacromolecules in fluid. The superstretchable transparent conductors are highly desirable for stretchable photoelectronics, electronic skins, and implantable electronics.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84943327274&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84943327274&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1073/pnas.1516873112
DO - 10.1073/pnas.1516873112
M3 - Article
C2 - 26392537
AN - SCOPUS:84943327274
SN - 0027-8424
VL - 112
SP - 12332
EP - 12337
JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
IS - 40
ER -