Soft and conformable wearable electronics require stretchable semiconductors but existing ones typically sacrifice charge-transport mobility to achieve stretchability. We explore a concept based on nanoconfinement effect of polymers to significantly improve the stretchability of polymer semiconductors, without affecting charge transport mobility. The increased polymer chain dynamics under nanoconfinement significantly reduces the modulus of the conjugated polymer and largely delays the onset of crack formation under strain. As a result, our fabricated semiconducting film can be stretched up to 100% strain without affecting mobility, retaining values comparable to that of amorphous-Si. The fully-stretchable transistors exhibit high bi-axial stretchability with minimal change in on-current even when poked with a sharp object, and we demonstrate a skin-like finger-wearable driver for a LED.

Highly stretchable polymer semiconductor films through nanoconfinement effect

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.