Organic Mixed Electron-Ion Conducting Elastomers

A strong trend in electronics in the 21st century is toward wearable or implantable electronic devices for advanced human-machine interfaces.

Developing soft and stretchable electronic materials that match the mechanical aspects of the human body is a key to realizing seamless human-machine interfaces.

Insulating elastomers possess such mechanical aspects, therefore, there have been significant attempts to incorporate either electron conductors or ion conductors into elastomer matrices; but mixed electron-ion conductors have never been transformed into conducting elastomers yet.

Here we aim to develop organic mixed electron-ion conducting elastomers and explore their potential to realize all-solid-state, elastic electrochemical devices. The applicant will guide the project and implement it together with a PhD student.

The tasks have been divided into four work packages for: developing hierarchically structured ternary composites with interpenetrating networks, investigating mixed conducting properties under dynamic mechanical strain, probing network structures and structure-property relationships, and developing all-solid-state elastic electrochemical energy and actuation devices.

The scope of applications will be extended further through collaborations, brining versatile electrochemical devices into the regime of wearable and implantable electronics.