Paper Electronics Utilizing Screen Printing and Vapor Phase Polymerization

The rise of paper electronics has been accelerated due to the public push for sustainability. Electronic waste can potentially be avoided if certain materials in electronic components can be substituted for greener alternatives such as paper. Within this report, it is demonstrated that conductive polymers poly(3,4-ethylenedoxythiophene) (PEDOT), polypyrrole, and polythiophene, can be synthesized by screen printing combined with vapor phase polymerization on paper substrates and further incorporated into functional electronic components. High patterning resolution (100 mu m) is achieved for all conductive polymers, with PEDOT showing impressive sheet resistance values. PEDOT is incorporated as conductive circuitry and as the active material in all-printed electrochromic displays. The conductive polymer circuits allow for functional light emitting diodes, while the electrochromic displays are comparable to commercial displays utilizing PEDOT on plastic substrates.
Funding Agencies|Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research [EM16-0002]; Vinnova for the Digital Cellulose Center [2016-05193]; European Union [101008701]