We report high performance and stable inkjet-printed stretchable silver electrodes on wave structured elastomeric substrates. Highly conductive silver electrodes were deposited directly on a ultraviolet ozone treated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates having vertical wavy structures. Adhesion between printed silver lines and PDMS surface has been enhanced by intentionally roughened PDMS surface with wire-electro discharge machined aluminum mold. During slow (16.7 μm/s) stretching test, resistance of the printed silver electrode was increased only by three times at 30% tensile strain. Inkjet-printed silver electrodes also showed good mechanical stability during 1000-time fast (1 mm/s) cycling test with 10% tensile strain, showing maximum resistance change of less than three times.
Inkjet-printed single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) thin films on stretchable substrates were developed, and their electrical properties were investigated. The 1- and 5-layer printed SWCNT thin films had sheet resistances of 169.76 and 19.08 Ω/sq, respectively, and maintained conductive properties under 100% tensile strain. A nitric acid treatment significantly improved the conductivity of the SWCNT electrodes, and after an initial increase, the 5-layer printed SWCNT electrodes showed a normalized resistance of less than 1.2 after 1000 cycles under 100% tensile strain. The potential of the inkjet-printed SWCNT thin films for stretchable electrode applications was demonstrated via integration with a light-emitting diode.
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