The merging of electronically conductive elements with soft polymeric materials gave birth to the novel field of soft and stretchable electronics and robotics, in which the key aspect is the maintenance of electrical properties even under severe mechanical deformation. Here, we review the variety of fabrication techniques (dry, wet, and printed) that have been designed, studied, and tested, which leads to a forecast of how soft technologies will have a revolutionary impact on the progress of biomedicine and pre-clinical practice, wearable electronics, environmental monitoring and recognition, smart farming and precision agriculture, and energy harvesting and storage. A particular focus is given to techniques for the printing of 2D and 3D electronics, which allow compliant conductive elements to be coupled to complex three-dimensional objects and platforms. We discuss why it is now necessary to choose between different nanoscale building blocks, nanomaterials, and deposition techniques and to optimize such choices. The watchwords to be prioritized are scalability, versatility, environmental sustainability and biocompatibility, integration, and reduction of the fabrication steps. The target is the design of an eco-friendly and versatile approach for the fully additive manufacture of free-form advanced soft electronic devices (which will eventually be biocompatible and biodegradable) using a multilayer, multimaterial process that can print both active and passive 3D elements on soft polymeric platforms. The sequential combination of dry and wet spray printing is shown to be one of the most promising approaches.

Nanomaterials and printing techniques for 2D and 3D soft electronics / L. Migliorini, S. Villa, T. Santaniello, P. Milani. - In: NANO FUTURES. - ISSN 2399-1984. - 6:3(2022 Sep), pp. 032001.1-032001.17. [10.1088/2399-1984/ac74f9]

Nanomaterials and printing techniques for 2D and 3D soft electronics

L. Migliorini
Primo
;
S. Villa
Secondo
;
T. Santaniello
Penultimo
;
P. Milani
Ultimo
2022

Abstract

The merging of electronically conductive elements with soft polymeric materials gave birth to the novel field of soft and stretchable electronics and robotics, in which the key aspect is the maintenance of electrical properties even under severe mechanical deformation. Here, we review the variety of fabrication techniques (dry, wet, and printed) that have been designed, studied, and tested, which leads to a forecast of how soft technologies will have a revolutionary impact on the progress of biomedicine and pre-clinical practice, wearable electronics, environmental monitoring and recognition, smart farming and precision agriculture, and energy harvesting and storage. A particular focus is given to techniques for the printing of 2D and 3D electronics, which allow compliant conductive elements to be coupled to complex three-dimensional objects and platforms. We discuss why it is now necessary to choose between different nanoscale building blocks, nanomaterials, and deposition techniques and to optimize such choices. The watchwords to be prioritized are scalability, versatility, environmental sustainability and biocompatibility, integration, and reduction of the fabrication steps. The target is the design of an eco-friendly and versatile approach for the fully additive manufacture of free-form advanced soft electronic devices (which will eventually be biocompatible and biodegradable) using a multilayer, multimaterial process that can print both active and passive 3D elements on soft polymeric platforms. The sequential combination of dry and wet spray printing is shown to be one of the most promising approaches.
soft electronics; soft robotics; printed electronics; conductive nanomaterials; additive manufacturing;
Settore FIS/03 - Fisica della Materia
set-2022
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Migliorini_2022_Nano_Futures_6_032001 (1).pdf

accesso riservato

Tipologia: Publisher's version/PDF
Dimensione 2.33 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
2.33 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/977648
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 7
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 6
social impact