Green
wearable electronics are attracting increasing attention
to eliminate harmful byproducts generated by traditional devices.
Although various degradable materials have been explored for green
wearable electronics, the development of degradable elastomers with
integrated characteristics of low modulus, self-adhesion, high resilient,
and low hysteresis remains challenging. In this work, a degradable
elastomer poly(1,8-octanediol-co-citrate-co-caprolactone) (POCL) is reported, in which a loosely
cross-linked network contains plenty of entangled flexible chains.
The coexistence of covalent cross-links and entanglements of long
polymer chains endows the elastomer with good resilience and low hysteresis,
in addition to low modulus and self-adhesion. Taking advantage of
the unique mechanical properties, epidermal strain sensors based on
the POCL elastomer were prepared, which exhibited good adhesion to
human skin, high sensitivity, high response rate, and excellent fatigue
resistance. We also fabricated stretchable electroluminescent devices
using this degradable elastomer and demonstrated the recyclability
of the nondegradable materials in the electronic device.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.