The joint DGIST-POSTECH research team developed n

□ The research team of Professor Kyung-In Jang from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering at DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee) managed to develop a highly stable, stretchable electronic device that overcomes the mechanical limitations of conventional inorganic materials and increases their stretchability and durability. In collaboration with the team of Professor Taeho Park from the Department of Chemical Engineering at POSTECH (President Seong-Keun Kim), the research team developed a stretchable hybrid polymer and applied it to electronic devices, enabling them to operate stably even in the presence of deformations or external influences. The technology is expected to be used in various industries such as displays, healthcare and wearables.

□ Stretchable electronics technology is a promising technology with applications in various industries such as displays, wearables and healthcare. However, when subjected to deformations such as stretching and bending, or external impacts, maintaining stable electrical functionality of these components becomes a challenge. Various research works are being carried out to solve this problem. In this context, the DGIST-POSTECH joint research team developed a “stretchable hybrid polymer” and introduced a new strain isolation strategy to integrate (1) stretchable inorganic electronic devices with high efficiency, creating a new “stretchable electronic device” that performs stably even under deformation or external impacts.

□ First, the research team developed a “stretchy hybrid polymer” by “cross-linking an interpenetrating polymer network (IPN).” IPN is a three-dimensional polymer structure formed by the physical and chemical cross-linking of two or more polymers, retaining the characteristics of each polymer while strengthening each other. It can maintain high stability and performance even under deformation by inducing physical entanglement between polymers, which creates an excellent mechanical contact surface. The research team created a “stretchy hybrid polymer” using silicone-based polymers with different elastic moduli, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyurethane (PU).

The team then built a substrate from the developed stretchable polymer and combined it with a high-performance stretchable electronic component made of inorganic materials to create a “stretchable electronic device.” The newly developed electronic device is designed to distribute stresses occurring at one point during stretching or bending, thus reducing the mechanical stress of the device and maintaining its high stability. This significantly reduces the physical damage and performance degradation that can occur in existing stretchable electronics.

Professor Kyung-In Jang from the Department of Robotics and Mechatronics Engineering said: “We are pleased to have developed a stretchable electronic device system that maintains the mechanically sensitive properties of inorganic materials even under various deformations and physical damage.” He also added, “We have validated the stability of the system in applications such as stretchable microlight devices and heaters, and we will further refine this research to apply it to various industries such as healthcare and wearables, as well as stretchable displays.” .

The results of this research have been published online ACS Nanoa renowned international journal in the field of nanoscience.

– Corresponding author’s e-mail address: [email protected]

(1) Stretching: a phenomenon in which an object expands under the influence of an outward force, parallel to its central axis.

2 IPN, Interpenetrating Polymer Network: A polymer composite in which two or more polymers are physically mixed and interpenetrate each other but do not chemically bond to each other.

3 PDMS: Short for polydimethylsiloxane, a type of silicone elastomer.