CNR ExploRA

Articolo in rivista, 2019, ENG, 10.1002/adsu.201900001

Flexible Conductors from Brown Algae for Green Electronics

Maccagnani, Piera; Bertoldo, Monica; Dinelli, Franco; Murgia, Mauro; Summonte, Caterina; Ortolani, Luca; Pizzochero, Giulio; Verucchi, Roberto; Collini, Cristian; Capelli, Raffaella

CNR - Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy; CNR - Istituto per la Sintesi Organica e la Fotoreattività, via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy; CNR - Istituto Nazionale di Ottica, via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy; CNR - Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy; CNR - Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism, via alla Cascata 56/C, Povo, 38123 Trento, Italy; CNR - Istituto Officina dei Materiali, S.S. 14, km 163.5 in Area Science Park, 34012 Trieste, Italy; Dipartimento di Ingegneria E. Ferrari, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Via Vivarelli 10, 41125 Modena, Italy

In this paper a novel approach is presented to prepare flexible and transparent conducting films, whose components can be separated and recovered via a recycling process. The fabrication method is based on low power sputtering of ultrathin gold layers on sodium alginate free-standing films. The resulting foils are thin, easy to handle, and shape, while showing good conductive properties. In particular, they show excellent resistance to mechanical stress, like bending or rubbing, and are highly stable in ambient atmosphere over several months. Therefore they may represent a very promising candidate to be employed in green electronics, thanks to the reduced energy consumption required for their fabrication, the absence of toxic components or chemicals that are derived from oil, and the possibility to disassemble the devices at the end of their life in environmentally friendly conditions.

Advanced sustainable systems 3 (6), pp. 1900001–1900001