Biodegradable Materials for Transient Organic Transistors

Abstract

Electronic devices that can physically disappear in a controlled manner without harmful by-products unveil a wide range of opportunities in medical devices, environmental monitoring, and next-generation consumer electronics. Their property of transience is indispensable for mitigating the global problem of electronic waste accumulation. Additionally, transient technologies that are biocompatible and can be biologically resorbed are of great potential for applications in temporary medical implants, since it eliminates the need for expensive device recovery surgery. Transistors are the key building blocks of modern electronics, and their fabrication using organic materials is beneficial due to their low cost, unprecedented flexibility and facile processing. This contribution reviews the technological application of biodegradable materials in four major classes of organic transistors, namely organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), organic synaptic transistors, electrolyte-gated OFETs, and organic electrochemical transistors. The fundamental biodegradation mechanism is discussed in detail, followed by a perspective of various biodegradable materials utilized as active semiconductors, dielectrics, electrolytes and substrates in the various types of organic transistor devices. This contribution comprehensively discusses the role and application of biodegradable materials in all of the key modern-day organic transistors, highlighting their unique properties that allow the fabrication of biodegradable, eco-friendly, and sustainable devices.

Biopolymer Cryogels for Transient Ecology‐Drones

“…The latest developments will enable environmental monitoring drones to be fully biodegradable and therefore enable environmental sensing one-way missions. While various approaches toward manufacturing and material selection are discussed in literature, [50,51] especially the development of transient transistors [52,53] will allow higher levels of autonomy for the drone. Nevertheless, the herein-developed platform can be used to carry various transient sensing devices, such as humidity or UV-intensity sensors.…”

Wireless Battery-free and Fully Implantable Organ Interfaces

“…Examples of such conductors span a wide range of materials, including organics such as poly­(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly­(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), 1,3-bisphosphogylcerate (PGAP)], and blends of conducting particles, as discussed in Section “Biointegration Strategies for Implantable Devices” and “Power Casting Techniques”. Also included are metals that are absorbed in the body, such as Zn and Mg, for transient device classes. , Semiconducting materials are usually used in high-performance devices; however, in wireless battery-free implants with advanced miniaturization and soft mechanics, these can take the form of ultrathin sheets with nm thicknesses to yield soft mechanics and retain high performance. Semiconductors can also be constructed of transient materials such as zinc oxide (ZnO) or be made intrinsically soft via the use of organic semiconductors, such as those discussed in Sections “Materials Integration Strategies” and “Biointegration Strategies for Implantable Devices” .…”

Tailoring the mechanical properties of benzothiadiazole-based semiconducting polymers through chalcogen atom substitution

“…Owing to their extended delocalized p-conjugation, they possess a plethora of unique properties, including synthetic versatility, good charge transport, favorable mechanical properties, and biodegradability/biocompatibility. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Due to these features, this class of materials have shown significant potential for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices, including organic photovoltaics (OPVs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), and organic thin film transistors (OTFTs). 8,9 They also have created new opportunities for various industrial applications including electrochemical sensing, printed electronics energy storage, and beyond.…”