Solution-processable, soft, self-adhesive, and conductive polymer composites for soft electronics

Soft electronics are increasingly important for applications like healthcare monitoring and medical implants. However, poor adhesion and mechanical mismatches often lead to device failure. This paper introduces a self-adhesive conductive polymer with low modulus (56.1–401.9 kPa), high stretchability (700%), high interfacial adhesion (>1.2 MPa), and high conductivity (1–37 S/cm). This material, fabricated by doping poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) with a supramolecular solvent, enables solution-processed electrodes for various soft devices, including electroluminescent devices, electromyography monitoring, and an integrated system visualizing electromyography signals during muscle training. These self-adhesive conductive polymer-based electronics show great potential for creating comfortable and wearable bioelectronic devices.

Peng Tan, Haifei Wang, Furui Xiao, Xi Lu, Wenhui Shang, Xiaobo Deng, Huafeng Song, Ziyao Xu, Junfeng Cao, Tiansheng Gan, Ben Wang, Xuechang Zhou