Episode 5: Inkjet-printed material tailored for biocompatible wearable electronics

In this podcast episode, MRS Bulletin’s Sophia Chen interviews Prof. Esma Ismailova and graduate student Marina Galliani from Mines Saint-Etienne about their work toward creating biocompatible, eco-friendly materials for wearable electronics. For this particular project, they developed a conducting material based on a commercial polymer known as PEDOT-PSS, in a water-based solution. They combined it with various solvents to tune the electrical conductivity, which is dependent on the shape and structure of the polymers in the material as they dry. The researchers tested the material’s conductivity on several substrates, including paper-based substrates and textiles. To make the material printable, they also needed to tune the material’s viscosity. Because the material relies on inkjet printers that are already commonly available, this material is relatively easy to incorporate into industrial processes. This work was published in a recent issue of APL Bioengineering.