Mechanochromic Stretchable Electronics

Meredith H. Barbee; Kunal Mondal; John Z. Deng; Vivek Bharambe; Taylor V. Neumann; Jacob J. Adams; Nicholas Boechler; Michael D. Dickey; Stephen L. Craig

doi:10.1021/acsami.8b09130

Mechanochromic Stretchable Electronics

Meredith H. Barbee, Kunal Mondal, John Z. Deng, Vivek Bharambe, Taylor V. Neumann, Jacob J. Adams, Nicholas Boechler, Michael D. Dickey, Stephen L. Craig

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

77 Scopus citations

Abstract

Soft and stretchable electronics are promising for a variety of applications such as wearable electronics, human-machine interfaces, and soft robotics. These devices, which are often encased in elastomeric materials, maintain or adjust their functionality during deformation, but can fail catastrophically if extended too far. Here, we report new functional composites in which stretchable electronic properties are coupled to molecular mechanochromic function, enabling at-a-glance visual cues that inform user control. These properties are realized by covalently incorporating a spiropyran mechanophore within poly(dimethylsiloxane) to indicate with a visible color change that a strain threshold has been reached. The resulting colorimetric elastomers can be molded and patterned so that, for example, the word "STOP" appears when a critical strain is reached, indicating to the user that further strain risks device failure. We also show that the strain at color onset can be controlled by layering silicones with different moduli into a composite. As a demonstration, we show how color onset can be tailored to indicate a when a specified frequency of a stretchable liquid metal antenna has been reached. The multiscale combination of mechanochromism and soft electronics offers a new avenue to empower user control of strain-dependent properties for future stretchable devices.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	29918-29924
Number of pages	7
Journal	ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume	10
Issue number	35
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b09130
State	Published - Sep 5 2018
Externally published	Yes

Funding

This material is based on work supported by the US Army Research Laboratory and the Army Research Office under grant W911NF-17-1-0595 to S.L.C. and N.B. S.L.C. and M.H.B acknowledge funding support from the NSF Research Triangle MRSEC (DMR-1121107) and fellowship support from DoD (Air Force Office of Scientific Research, NDSEG Fellowship, 32 CFR 168A to M.H.B.). J.Z.D. thanks Duke University for fellowship support. M.D.D., K.M., and T.V.M. acknowledge funding from NSF-ASSIST Center for Advanced Self Powered Systems of Integrated Sensors and Technologies Center (EEC-1160483) and NC State University. J.J.A. and V.B. acknowledge funding from U.S. Army Research Office under grant W911NF-17-1-0216. This work was performed in part at the Duke University Shared Materials Instrumentation Facility (SMIF), a member of the North Carolina Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN), which is supported by the National Science Foundation (grant ECCS-1542015) as part of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI). We would like to thank the Duke Innovation Lab for the use of their laser cutter. We are also grateful to Russell W. Mailen and Urs Fabian Fritze for helpful conversations.

Funders	Funder number
NSF-ASSIST	EEC-1160483
U.S. Army Research Office
National Science Foundation	ECCS-1542015
U.S. Department of Defense
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Army Research Office	W911NF-17-1-0216, W911NF-17-1-0595
Duke University
Army Research Laboratory
North Carolina State University
Materials Research Science and Engineering Center, Harvard University	DMR-1121107
National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate	32 CFR 168A

Keywords

liquid metal
mechanochromism
polymer mechanochemistry
silicone elastomers
stretchable electronics

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10.1021/acsami.8b09130

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title = "Mechanochromic Stretchable Electronics",

abstract = "Soft and stretchable electronics are promising for a variety of applications such as wearable electronics, human-machine interfaces, and soft robotics. These devices, which are often encased in elastomeric materials, maintain or adjust their functionality during deformation, but can fail catastrophically if extended too far. Here, we report new functional composites in which stretchable electronic properties are coupled to molecular mechanochromic function, enabling at-a-glance visual cues that inform user control. These properties are realized by covalently incorporating a spiropyran mechanophore within poly(dimethylsiloxane) to indicate with a visible color change that a strain threshold has been reached. The resulting colorimetric elastomers can be molded and patterned so that, for example, the word {"}STOP{"} appears when a critical strain is reached, indicating to the user that further strain risks device failure. We also show that the strain at color onset can be controlled by layering silicones with different moduli into a composite. As a demonstration, we show how color onset can be tailored to indicate a when a specified frequency of a stretchable liquid metal antenna has been reached. The multiscale combination of mechanochromism and soft electronics offers a new avenue to empower user control of strain-dependent properties for future stretchable devices.",

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AU - Dickey, Michael D.

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Mechanochromic Stretchable Electronics

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