Elastomer-Free, Stretchable, and Conformable Silver Nanowire Conductors Enabled by Three-Dimensional Buckled...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Incorporating nanomaterials into elastomers for stretchability often compromises their inherent properties.
• Developing stretchable conductors without compromising nanomaterial advantages is crucial for advanced functional applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate elastomer-free, highly deformable silver nanowire (AgNW) conductors.
• To evaluate the mechanical and electrical properties of these novel conductors under various deformations.

Main Methods:

• Dip-coating silver nanowires (AgNWs) onto a 3D polymeric scaffold.
• Applying a triaxial compression technique to create the conductor structure.
• Testing resistance stability under stretching, compressing, and bending.
• Characterizing the Poisson's ratio behavior.

Main Results:

• Achieved elastomer-free, highly deformable 3D AgNW conductors with good resistance stability under multimodal deformation.
• Demonstrated conductivity comparable to traditional elastomer-based AgNW conductors.
• Observed novel negative Poisson's ratio behavior due to buckled structures.

Conclusions:

• The developed 3D AgNW conductors offer a promising alternative to elastomer-based systems.
• The unique mechanical properties and stable conductivity are suitable for conformal mechanics with soft, curvilinear surfaces like the human body.