Duke University engineers have developed the world's first fully recyclable printed electronics.
"Silicon-based computer components,will probably never go away forever. But we hope that in the future, easily recyclable electronics will replace technologies and devices that are already widely used today, ”said Aaron Franklin, involved in the development. “We want to show that such electronics can do a lot, and its use does not entail any drawbacks.”
Three carbon based inks are easy to printon paper or other flexible and environmentally friendly surfaces. Carbon nanotubes and graphene ink are used for semiconductors and conductors.
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Researchers have developed a suspension methodnanocellulose crystals obtained from wood fibers. By using the three inks in an aerosol inkjet printer at room temperature, the team has shown that their all-carbon transistors perform well in a wide variety of applications, even six months after printing.
The team then showed that their designs were usable.for recycling. They immersed the devices in several baths, gently treating them with sound waves. Both materials can then be reused in the same printing process with little to no loss in productivity. And since nanocellulose is made from wood, it can be recycled along with the paper it was printed on.
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