Fabrication of High-resolution Graphene-based Flexible Electronics via Polymer Casting

Abstract

In this study, a novel method based on the transfer of graphene patterns from a rigid or flexible substrate onto a polymeric film surface via solvent casting was developed. The method involves the creation of predetermined graphene patterns on the substrate, casting a polymer solution, and directly transferring the graphene patterns from the substrate to the surface of the target polymer film via a peeling-off method. The feature sizes of the graphene patterns on the final film can vary from a few micrometers (as low as 5 µm) to few millimeters range. This process, applied at room temperature, eliminates the need for harsh post-processing techniques and enables creation of conductive graphene circuits (sheet resistance: ~0.2 kΩ/sq) with high stability (stable after 100 bending and 24 h washing cycles) on various polymeric flexible substrates. Moreover, this approach allows precise control of the substrate properties such as composition, biodegradability, 3D microstructure, pore size, porosity and mechanical properties using different film formation techniques. This approach can also be used to fabricate flexible biointerfaces to control stem cell behavior, such as differentiation and alignment. Overall, this promising approach provides a facile and low-cost method for the fabrication of flexible and stretchable electronic circuits.

Graphene‐Based Nanomaterials for Biomedical, Catalytic, and Energy Applications

“…This room temperature and facile method also broadened polymer (biodegradable/non-biodegradable) choice in the flexible electrode fabrication. [100]…”

Functionalization of Carbon Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications

“…GO can be considered as the oxidized form of graphene and there are abundant oxygen-containing function groups on their honeycomb structure, while rGO is the product of GO after a reduction process that partially restores the graphene structure whilst leaving some oxygen functionalities and defects. Graphene and its derivatives have been making essential changes in the field of energy technology [49], electronics, photonics [50] and catalysis [51] since the successfully isolation of single graphene layers from graphite using scotch tape method in 2004 [5]. The biomedical application is an emerging frontier to graphene and its derivatives.…”

Micro-Pattern of Graphene Oxide Films Using Metal Bonding

“…Flexible electronics is one of the most promising applications of graphene because of its strong electrical properties, flexibility, and transparency. Graphene can revolutionize the next generation of chip technology, flexible displays, wearable devices, and communication data [6][7][8][9][10][11]. In the wireless field, prototypes of flexible communication antennas have been built, providing competitive solutions to flexible radio-frequency components [12].…”