Recent Progress on Flexible Electronic Devices Based on Buckled Structures with Polymeric Substrates

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Electronics Engineering

Background:

• Flexible electronics are crucial for personalized health monitoring, soft robotics, and human-machine interactions due to their stretchability.
• Buckled structures are an effective strategy for achieving flexibility and stretchability in electronic devices.
• Flexible electronic devices based on buckled structures (FEDB) show significant progress, offering advantages like simple fabrication and structural stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a systematic review of recent research progress in FEDB.
• To explain the buckled instability mechanism and material choices for FEDB.
• To summarize the applications and emerging scenarios of FEDB.

Main Methods:

• Review of buckled instability mechanisms and common conductive/substrate materials (PDMS, TPU, SBS, PC, hydrogel).
• Summary of methods for constructing buckled structures (prestretch-release, solvent swelling, thermal, mold, 3D printing) and morphology control.
• Compilation of FEDB applications, including electrodes, sensors, energy devices, and emerging scenarios.

Main Results:

• FEDB utilize various polymeric substrates and construction methods to achieve desired flexibility and stretchability.
• Applications span from flexible electrodes and sensors to energy devices, with expanding use in underwater, biomedical, and human-machine interaction contexts.
• Emerging applications include underwater monitoring, physiological signal detection, and portable capsule devices.

Conclusions:

• FEDB present a promising platform for advanced electronic applications due to their inherent flexibility and stretchability.
• Challenges remain in long-term stability, extreme environment adaptability, conformal attachment, and scalable manufacturing.
• Further research is needed to overcome these challenges and fully realize the potential of FEDB.