Kirigami‐Inspired Nanoconfined Polymer Conducting Nanosheets with 2000% Stretchability

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2018-05, Vol.30 (20), p.e1706390-n/a
• Main Authors: Guan, Ying‐Shi, Zhang, Zhuolei, Tang, Yichao, Yin, Jie, Ren, Shenqiang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Charge transfer; Complex formation; Conducting polymers; Conductors; Deformation; Elasticity; Electrical resistivity; Finite element method; flexible electronics; Formability; freestanding polymer nanosheets; kirigami; Materials science; Nanosheets; Polymers; Reproducibility; Resistance; Stretchability
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201706390

Stretchable conductors are essential components of wearable electronics. However, such materials typically sacrifice their electronic conductivity to achieve mechanical stretchability and elasticity. Here, the nanoconfinement and air/water interfacial assembly is explored to grow freestanding mechanical endurance conducting polymer nanosheets that can be stretched up to 2000% with simultaneously high electrical conductivity, inspired by kirigami. Such stretchable conductors show remarkable electronic and mechanical reversibility and reproducibility under more than 1000 cycle durability tests with 2000% deformability, which can be accurately predicted using finite element modeling. The conductivity of nanoconfined freestanding conductor nanosheets increases by three orders of magnitude from 2.2 × 10−3 to 4.002 S cm−1 is shown, due to the charge‐transfer complex formation between polymer chain and halogen, while the electrical conductance of the stretchable kirigami nanosheets can be maintained over the entire strain regime. The nanoconfined polymer nanosheets can also act as a sensor capable of sensing the pressure with high durability and real‐time monitoring. Nanoconfined polymer conducting nanosheets are fabricated using the air/water interfacial assembly method. The freestanding conducting‐polymer nanosheets with mechanical endurance can be stretched up to 2000%, with simultaneously high electrical conductivity inspired by kirigami. Such stretchable conductors show remarkable electronic and mechanical reversibility and reproducibility under more than 1000 cycle durability tests with 2000% deformability.