Reconfigurable sticker label electronics manufactured from nanofibrillated cellulose-based self-adhesive organic electronic materials

Abstract

Low voltage operated electrochemical devices can be produced from electrically conducting polymers and polyelectrolytes. Here, we report how such polymers and polyelectrolytes can be cast together with nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) derived from wood. The resulting films, which carry ionic or electronic functionalities, are all-organic, disposable, light-weight, flexible, self-adhesive, elastic and self-supporting. The mechanical and self-adhesive properties of the films enable simple and flexible electronic systems by assembling the films into various kinds of components using a “cut and stick” method. Additionally, the self-adhesive surfaces provide a new concept that not only allows for simplified system integration of printed electronic components, but also allows for a unique possibility to detach and reconfigure one or several subcomponents by a “peel and stick” method to create yet another device configuration. This is demonstrated by a stack of two films that first served as the electrolyte layer and the pixel electrode of an electrochromic display, which then was detached from each other and transferred to another configuration, thus becoming the electrolyte and gate electrode of an electrochemical transistor. Further, smart pixels, consisting of the combination of one electrochromic pixel and one electrochemical transistor, have successfully been manufactured with the NFC-hybridized materials. The concept of system reconfiguration was further explored by that a pixel electrode charged to its colored state could be detached and then integrated on top of a transistor channel. This resulted in spontaneous discharging and associated current modulation of the transistor channel without applying any additional gate voltage. Our peel and stick approach promises for novel reconfigurable electronic devices, e.g. in sensor, label and security applications.