Molecular Engineering for Mechanically Resilient and Stretchable Electronic Polymers and Composites
Abstract
In the project supported by the AFOSR YIP, my laboratory published 24 papers. The goal of this project was to establish the design criteria for elasticity and ductility in conjugated polymers and composites by analysis of the structural determinants of the mechanical properties. We developed coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations that predicted the mechanical properties of conjugated polymers and polymer-fullerene composites. We elucidated the mechanical properties of a library of greater than 50 low-band gap polymers to determine molecular design rules for maximizing electronic performance with mechanical deformability. We also determined the effect of cyclic stretching on the microstructure and mechanical properties of conjugated polymers. We used many of these results to produce a new type of ultra-thin, skin-wearable solar cell that could survive many cycles of deformation without degrading significantly. Complementary to the molecular approaches for improving the mechanical robustness of stretchable organic electronics, we also explored the role of encapsulation and adhesion in electronic devices and found that a large increase in stretchability is possible with the use of a stretchable encapsulating layer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 08, 2016
- Accession Number
- AD1011538
Entities
People
- Darren J. Lipomi
Organizations
- University of California, San Diego