Conductive films that are both stretchable and flexible could have applications in electronic devices, sensors, actuators and speakers. A substantial amount of research has been carried out on conductive polymer composites, metal electrode-integrated rubber substrates and materials based on carbon nanotubes and graphene. Here we present highly conductive, printable and stretchable hybrid composites composed of micrometre-sized silver flakes and multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with self-assembled silver nanoparticles. The nanotubes were used as one-dimensional, flexible and conductive scaffolds to construct effective electrical networks among the silver flakes. The nanocomposites, which included polyvinylidenefluoride copolymer, were created with a hot-rolling technique, and the maximum conductivities of the hybrid silver-nanotube composites were 5,710 S cm⁻¹ at 0% strain and 20 S cm⁻¹ at 140% strain, at which point the film ruptured. Three-dimensional percolation theory reveals that Poisson's ratio for the composite is a key parameter in determining how the conductivity changes upon stretching.

A novel graphene-on-organic film fabrication method that is compatible with a batch microfabrication process was developed and used for electromechanically driven microactuators. A very thin layer of graphene sheets was monolithically integrated and the unique material characteristics of graphene including negative thermal expansion and high electrical conductivity were exploited to produce a bimorph actuation. A large displacement with rapid response was observed while maintaining the low power consumption. This enabled the successful demonstration of transparent graphene-based organic microactuators.

Three-dimensional (3D) writing is a promising approach to realize stretchable electronics, but is so far limited to microscale features. We developed accurate 3D writing for highly stretchable organic nanowire arrays using a nanoscale polymer meniscus. Specifically, 3D nanoarches of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate) with unprecedented stretchability, over 270%, and no compromise on the electrical characteristics were fabricated. Then, we integrated nanoarches into photoswitches, electrochemical transistors, and electrical interconnects. The impact of these successful tests goes well beyond these specific devices and opens the way to new classes of stretchable nanodevices based on organic materials.

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The growth of low temperature aluminum oxide gate dielectric on a plastic substrate is explored for flexible device application. Single-crystaltransferred-silicon is used as a channel layer. A plasma-deposited interfacial oxide layer is found beneficial for better device performances. Additional forming gas annealing also improved contact resistance and resulted in better passivation of defect sites, hence, enhanced performances. High mobility, high on current with large on-off ratio and low threshold voltage was achieved. The flexibility of the device is also reported. Devices show nearly no changes in electrical properties after bending the device to a strain value of up to 0.3%, corresponding to a bending radius of 4 mm.