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Iridium Oxide-reduced Graphene Oxide Nanohybrid Thin Film Modified Screen-printed Electrodes as Disposable Electrochemical Paper Microfluidic pH Sensors

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Thin, lightweight, foldable thermochromic displays on paper.

Adam C Siegel¹, Scott T Phillips, Benjamin J Wiley

¹Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.

|December 8, 2009

Summary

Researchers developed a low-cost, flexible electronic display using paper, conductive wires, and thermochromic ink. This novel display changes from colored to transparent when heated, revealing printed messages, ideal for single-use applications with limited power.

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Area of Science:

Materials Science
Electronic Engineering
Display Technology

Background:

Traditional electronic displays are often rigid, costly, and power-intensive.
There is a need for low-cost, flexible, and disposable display solutions for specific applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To describe the fabrication and functionality of a novel paper-based electronic display.
To evaluate the display's suitability for low-cost, low-power, and single-use information presentation.

Main Methods:

Fabrication involved patterning micron-scale conductive wires (heaters) on paper.
Thermochromic ink was applied to the opposite side of the paper.
Electrical current was passed through the wires to heat the paper and alter ink transparency.

Main Results:

The display demonstrated a two-state "shutter" functionality, changing from colored to transparent.
The display is thin (100 microm), lightweight (<20 mg/cm(2)), and mechanically flexible (foldable, rollable, twistable).
Material costs are less than $0.10/m(2), and the display is incinerable.

Conclusions:

This paper-based display offers a unique, low-cost, and disposable solution for information display.
Its flexibility, low power requirements, and cost-effectiveness make it suitable for specific applications like single-use information delivery.