Issue 24, 2023

PVA–FeCl3 composites as substrate and packaging materials for the controlled degradation of non-degradable metals in transient electronics

Abstract

Progress in transient electronics depends largely on the availability of components and materials that can decompose in aqueous solutions. However, some of the most important electrically conductive materials, such as copper or aluminum, do not fall into this category. Here, we report a concept for solving this problem based on the preparation of a new water-soluble polymer composite as a packaging material that, when dissolved, releases a chemical etchant that decomposes these two metals. We investigate the synthesis, chemical properties, and solubility kinetics of a polyvinyl alcohol–iron chloride (PVA–FeCl3) composite, its degradation properties, and the associated dissolution mechanisms of metallic Al and Cu films and traces. The results show that Cu films dissolve in a rapid and uniform fashion and produce copper(I) chloride as the end product, while Al films exhibit inconsistent dissolution behavior. Moreover, the timescale for complete dissolution of Cu and Al can be adjusted by simply varying the amount of FeCl3 in the composite. The distinct advantages of this triggered transience mode include low cost, simplicity, precise control of the dissolution process by varying the polymer composition, and a universal degradation mechanism that can be extended to numerous transient electronic devices.

Graphical abstract: PVA–FeCl3 composites as substrate and packaging materials for the controlled degradation of non-degradable metals in transient electronics

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
06 12 2022
Accepted
27 3 2023
First published
11 4 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 12999-13006

PVA–FeCl3 composites as substrate and packaging materials for the controlled degradation of non-degradable metals in transient electronics

N. Mittal, T. Jang, S. Hwang and M. Niederberger, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 12999 DOI: 10.1039/D2TA09507F

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements