Substrates and packaging materials for electronics often require high mechanical strength, chemical resistance, and physical stability for practical uses.  In contrast to this traditional concept, transient electronics built on flexible substrates offer opportunities for applications, such as biomedical implants, drug delivery vehicles, and environmental sensors, that can benefit from programmed device disintegration.  To expand upon the current silk-based substrates to other synthetic high polymers, we are currently investigating low-ceiling-temperature materials, such as poly(aldehyde)s and poly(olefin sulfone)s, as alternative packaging materials to protect the environmentally sensitive electronics.  These materials are kinetically stabilized at room temperature but can rapidly depolymerize upon cleavage of end groups or backbones; thus, the degradation of these materials can be triggered upon exposure to specific stimuli, such as pH changes and light.  In particular, we have developed electronics fabricated on blend films of poly(phthalaldehyde) and photoacid generator that respond to UV irradiation and self-terminate within 20 minutes after triggering.  The chemical and mechanical degradation of the blend films was monitored by IR spectroscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis, respectively.  We are also developing poly(olefin sulfone)s as base-sensitive packaging materials and have demonstrated that these polymers degrade in the presence of tertiary amines at room temperature.  Studies are currently underway to elucidate the polymer degradation mechanism, which will enable the design of next-generation materials with improved mechanical strength and degradation kinetics.

Poly(phthalaldehyde) and poly(olefin sulfone)s as transient electronic packaging materials with programmable degradation

248th National Meeting (2014)

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