Scientists have developed a new method of creating elastic conductors
Whether it’s touch-sensitive skin for robots, clothing made from smart fabrics, or devices with bendable displays, stretchable electronics will be playing a large role in a number of emerging technologies. While the field is still very new, stretchable electronic devices may have come a step closer to common use, thanks to research being conducted at North Carolina State University. Scientists there have recently developed a new method for creating elastic conductors, using carbon nanotubes.
A team led by Dr. Yong Zhu started by using a transfer printing process to place aligned carbon nanotubes on an elastic substrate. When that substrate was stretched, the nanotubes separated from one another, but maintained their parallel alignment. Once the substrate was relaxed, however, the nanotubes didn’t return to their original configuration. Instead, they buckled, forming a pattern that looked like squiggly lines drawn onto a flat surface.
The buckled nanotubes were subsequently able to conduct electricity, in both relaxed and stretched states.
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