29th June 2021 12:02 am 28th June 2021 11:53 am
Researchers at Virginia Tech University have developed a new type of soft electronics that can self-heal and be recycled at end of life.
Current passes through a self-healing circuit. Credit: Alex Parrish, Virginia Tech
The ‘skin-like’ circuits, developed at the university’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Macromolecules Innovation Institute, aim to pave the way for a new generation of reconfigurable, robust self-healing devices.
Led by assistant professor Michael Bartlett, the team’s approach replaces rigid materials and soldered wires currently used in consumer electronics with soft electronic composites and tiny electricity-conducting liquid metal droplets. The result is said to be a soft and stretchy circuit that can sustain ‘numerous damage events’ under load without losing conductivity.