Self-Healable, Recyclable Anisotropic Conductive Films of Liquid Metal-Gelatin Hybrids for Soft Electronics

This paper reports an unconventional approach for the formation of self-healable and recyclable anisotropic conductive films (ACFs) using soft composites of gelatin hydrogels and liquid metals (LMs). The capsules of LMs dispersed inside the gelatin matrix can present satisfactory anisotropic conductance for electrical connections of vertically aligned, fine electrodes at room temperature by applying compressive pressures. The minimization of the capsule size as well as the softness of these LM-gelatin hybrid ACFs enables high-resolution integrations of deformable electronic systems, which can increase the integrity of freeform devices. In addition, the good fluidity of LMs and strong hydrogen bonding in gelatin enable these ACFs to be self-healable at ambient conditions and even recyclable with no significant degradations in either their original electrical or mechanical properties. The utilization of these ACFs to integrate multiple interconnections of micro-light-emitting diode arrays on a soft elastomeric substrate demonstrates a stretchable display with its reliable operations during mechanical deformations, suggesting a promising strategy for next-generation freeform and eco-friendly green electronics.

Automated summary

This paper presents an unconventional approach for the formation of self-healable and recyclable anisotropic conductive films using gelatin hydrogels and liquid metals. The LM-gelatin hybrid ACFs show satisfactory anisotropic conductance for electrical connections of fine electrodes at room temperature. The utilization of these ACFs enables high-resolution integrations of deformable electronic systems and their self-healable and recyclable properties without significant degradation in electrical or mechanical performance.