A new type of electronic material can stretch like a rubber band.
发表时间：2016/1/14 14:37:32 浏览次数：2278
An international joint research team led by researchers at the Northwestern University has claimed that they have developed a kind of electronic material that can stretch like a rubber band. This material, even if it is bent or stretched to 200% of the original size, can work normally, and has a wide range of applications in the field of medical devices and consumer electronic equipment manufacturing.
For heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other patients, regular visits to the hospital has become a part of life, which is not only time-consuming but also takes up a lot of medical resources. Some scientists have put forward, can be designed to be implanted in the human body of a micro medical monitoring equipment, so that both convenient for patients and doctors, if the situation can be found in a timely manner. But the issue of materials has become a major obstacle to the development of the technology - the current electronic components are mostly based on silicon, too stiff simply can not take this responsibility.
The leader of the project is Huang Yonggang, a professor of environmental engineering and mechanical engineering at the Northwestern University. In order to overcome this difficulty, in the past five years, he and his team developed the extension rate can reach 50% of the electronic components, but in front of the many valuable applications remain stretched. One of the major challenges is the serious loss of electrical conductivity resulting from the extension. At present, the market made of solid metal circuits in the extension, not without exception will encounter this difficulty.
In the new study, the Huang Yonggang team came up with a new way to solve the problem. First, they create a porous three-dimensional polymer material called poly (two methyl silicone) (PDMS), which can extend to 3 times its original size. And then the liquid metal (EGaIn) poured into the polymer material Kong Zhong, so even when high tensile strength, the current will not be interrupted. With this method, they create a material that has a high degree of extensibility and excellent electrical conductivity.
Huang Yonggang said: the key to the technology is the combination of porous polymer and liquid metal, through this method we successfully make this material to achieve a 200% extension. With this kind of material, it will be possible to make electronic devices that stretch like a rubber band."
The study also came from the South Korean Institute of advanced science and technology, Dalian University of Technology in China and University of Illinois in the United States,, Bana - Champagne scientists.
