Nanowerk June 22, 2022
A team of researchers in the US (UC Berkely, Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory)
has developed recyclable conductive composites that are introduced for printed circuits formulated with polycaprolactone (PCL), conductive fillers, and enzyme/protectant nanoclusters. Circuits can be printed with flexibility (breaking strain ≈80%) and conductivity (≈2.1 × 104 S m−1). These composites are degraded at the end of life by immersion in warm water with programmable latency. Approximately 94% of the functional fillers can be recycled and reused with similar device performance. The printed circuits remain functional and degradable after shelf storage for at least 7 months at room temperature and one month of continuous operation under electrical voltage. The work provides composite design toward recyclable and easily disposable printed electronics for applications such as wearable electronics, biosensors, and soft robotics…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
The recycling mechanism of the printed circuits using RHP/BC-Lipasenp nanoclusters… Credit: Advanced Materials, 17 May 2022