Silver Nanoparticle-Assisted Electrochemically Exfoliated Graphene Inks Coated on PVA-Based Self-Healing Polymer Composites for Soft Electronics

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 16, pp. 7838–7849

Abstract

Smart sensors with self-healing capabilities have recently aroused increasing interest in applications in soft electronics. However, challenges remain in balancing the sensors' self-healing and compatibility between their sensing and substrate layers. This study evaluated several self-healing polymer substrates and graphene ink-based strain-sensing coatings. The optimum electrochemically exfoliated graphene (e-graphene)/silver nanoparticle-coated tannic acid (TA)/superabsorbent polymer/graphene oxide (GO) blended poly(vinyl alcohol) polymer composites exhibited improvements of 47.1 and 39.2%, respectively, for the healing efficiency in a substrate crack area and in the graphene-based sensing layer due to conductive layer adhesion. While TA was found to improve healing efficiency on the coating surface by forming hydrogen bonds between the sensing and polymer layers, GO healed the polymer surface due to its ability to form bonds in the polymer matrix. The superabsorbent polymer was found to absorb excess water in e-graphene dispersion due to its host-guest interaction, while also reducing the coating thickness.

Authors 6

1. Barış Şimşek corresponding Aachen Chair of Electronic Devices Graphene & 2D-Materials Center

   RWTH Aachen University · Çankırı Karatekin University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Electronic Devices, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Strasse 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Department of Chemical Engineering, Çankırı Karatekin University, 18100 Çankırı, Turkey

   Graphene & 2D-Materials Center, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany

2. Jasper Ruhkopf Aachen AMO GmbH Chair of Electronic Devices Graphene & 2D-Materials Center

   RWTH Aachen University · AMO (Germany)

   Affiliation as printed

   AMO GmbH, Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mikro- und Optoelektronik mbH, Otto-Blumenthal-Straße 25, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Chair of Electronic Devices, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Strasse 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Graphene & 2D-Materials Center, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany

3. Ulrich Plachetka Aachen AMO GmbH

   AMO (Germany)

   Affiliation as printed

   AMO GmbH, Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mikro- und Optoelektronik mbH, Otto-Blumenthal-Straße 25, 52074 Aachen, Germany

4. Nico Rademacher Aachen Chair of Electronic Devices Graphene & 2D-Materials Center

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Electronic Devices, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Strasse 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Graphene & 2D-Materials Center, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany

5. Melkamu Belete Aachen Chair of Electronic Devices Graphene & 2D-Materials Center

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Electronic Devices, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Strasse 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Graphene & 2D-Materials Center, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany

6. Max C. Lemme Aachen AMO GmbH Chair of Electronic Devices Graphene & 2D-Materials Center

   RWTH Aachen University · AMO (Germany)

   Affiliation as printed

   AMO GmbH, Gesellschaft für Angewandte Mikro- und Optoelektronik mbH, Otto-Blumenthal-Straße 25, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Chair of Electronic Devices, RWTH Aachen University, Otto-Blumenthal-Strasse 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Graphene & 2D-Materials Center, RWTH Aachen University, Templergraben 55, 52062 Aachen, Germany