Heat and light triggered mechanical destruction of 2D materials based electronic devices fabricated on wax substrate

Abstract

The unusual features of transient electronics to disintegrate the device after its use have gained popularity in the research community as well as in various fields which is not possible with conventional electronics. Different triggers such as solution and stimuli-based have been utilized for the dissolution or degradation of electronic devices. To date, solution-based transience has been a dominant trigger because most of the bio-materials are soluble in aqueous and non-aqueous solutions. Due to this, the chemical dissolution, materials selection, devices functionalities, and configurations for the development of transient electronic devices are limited. To overcome this limitation, this report demonstrates the fabrication of electronic passive and active components with natural candelilla wax as a supporting substrate and further demonstrating the disintegration of the fabricated devices by light and heat. Further, the versatility of the fabrication process is demonstrated by patterning four different Transition Metal Dichalcogenides (TMDs) on wax substrate. The various patterned devices are exposed to heat and light triggers, and the lowest degradation time of ∼30 s was achieved. The successful demonstration of wax based electronics opens up new avenues of research in transient based electronics for potential applications in security, memory, sensors, and antennas.