Fatigue-free, superstretchable, transparent, and biocompatible metal electrodes

Abstract

Fatigue is a deadly disease for metals. Fatigue often happens under cyclic loading even if the strain level is low. However, a stretchable transparent electrode, which can be made of metal and is a key element in stretchable electronics, needs high stability at large strains. Here we show that Au nanomesh on a slippery substrate is fatigue-free when cyclically stretched to large strains (>100%). Moreover, cells can grow on the Au nanomesh. A metal mesh that conducts electricity, is biocompatible, and is completely free of fatigue will be an ideal electrode not only for flexible electronics, but also for implantable electronics.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Sep 21, 2015
Source ID
10.1073/pnas.1516873112

Entities

People

  • Ching-Wu Chu
  • Chuan Fei Guo
  • Guohui Wang
  • Qihan Liu
  • Yecheng Wang
  • Zhengzheng Shi
  • Zhifeng Ren
  • Zhigang Suo

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • Harvard University
  • Houston Methodist Hospital
  • Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China
  • National Science Foundation
  • United States Department of Energy
  • University of Houston
  • Zhengzhou University

Tags

Readers

  • Mechanical Engineering/Mechanics of Materials.
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Graphene