Tough soldering for stretchable electronics by small-molecule modulated interfacial assemblies

Liqing Ai, Weikang Lin, Chunyan Cao, Pengyu Li, Xuejiao Wang, Dong Lv, Xin Li, Zhengbao Yang () and Xi Yao ()
Additional contact information
Liqing Ai: City University of Hong Kong
Weikang Lin: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Chunyan Cao: City University of Hong Kong
Pengyu Li: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Xuejiao Wang: City University of Hong Kong
Dong Lv: City University of Hong Kong
Xin Li: City University of Hong Kong
Zhengbao Yang: Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Xi Yao: City University of Hong Kong

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract The rapid-developing soft robots and wearable devices require flexible conductive materials to maintain electric functions over a large range of deformations. Considerable efforts are made to develop stretchable conductive materials; little attention is paid to the frequent failures of integrated circuits caused by the interface mismatch of soft substrates and rigid silicon-based microelectronics. Here, we present a stretchable solder with good weldability that can strongly bond with electronic components, benefiting from the hierarchical assemblies of liquid metal particles, small-molecule modulators, and non-covalently crosslinked polymer matrix. Our self-solder shows high conductivity (>2×105 S m−1), extreme stretchability (~1000%, and >600% with chip-integrated), and high toughness (~20 MJ m−3). Additionally, the dynamic interactions within our solder’s surface and interior enable a range of unique features, including ease of integration, component substitution, and circuit recyclability. With all these features, we demonstrated an application as thermoforming technology for three-dimensional (3D) conformable electronics, showing potential in reducing the complexity of microchip interfacing, as well as scalable fabrication of chip-integrated stretchable circuits and 3D electronics.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-43574-8 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-43574-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43574-8

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().