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Elastomeric polymer light-emitting devices and displays

Nature Photonics volume 7, pages 817–824 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

The emergence of devices that combine elasticity with electronic or optoelectronic properties offers exciting new opportunities for applications, but brings significant materials challenges. Here, we report the fabrication of an elastomeric polymer light-emitting device (EPLED) using a simple, all-solution-based process. The EPLED features a pair of transparent composite electrodes comprising a thin percolation network of silver nanowires inlaid in the surface layer. The resulting EPLED, which exhibits rubbery elasticity at room temperature, is collapsible, and can emit light when exposed to strains as large as 120%. It can also survive repeated continuous stretching cycles, and small stretching is shown to significantly enhance its light-emitting efficiency. The fabrication process is scalable and was readily adapted for the demonstration of a simple passive matrix monochrome display featuring a 5 × 5 pixel array.

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Figure 1: Visual transparency, stretchability and SEM characterization of composite electrodes.
Figure 2: Device characterization of a stretchable PLEC.
Figure 3: Demonstration of encapsulated fully stretchable display.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (ECCS-1028412) and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-12-1-0074). The authors thank Zhi Ren and Kwing Tong for experimental assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of California, Los Angeles, 90095, California, USA

    Jiajie Liang, Lu Li, Xiaofan Niu, Zhibin Yu & Qibing Pei

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  1. Jiajie Liang
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  2. Lu Li
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  5. Qibing Pei
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Contributions

J.L. and Q.P. conceived and designed the research. X.N. carried out the mechanical measurements. J.L., L.L., X.N., Z.Y. and Q.P. participated in materials preparation, device fabrication and data interpretation. J.L. and Q.P. wrote the paper. Q.P. supervised the project.

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Correspondence to Qibing Pei.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Liang, J., Li, L., Niu, X. et al. Elastomeric polymer light-emitting devices and displays. Nature Photon 7, 817–824 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2013.242

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