FMSG: Eco: Multimaterial Manufacturing of Eco-Friendly and Biodegradable Paper-Based Flexible Hybrid Electronics

这个未来制造种子基金（FMSG）生态制造项目支持科学和工程研究，使环保电子产品和打印在纸上的传感器的未来制造成为可能。印刷只在需要的地方放置所需的材料，消除了有害废物的产生，减少了与传统电子制造过程相关的污染。然而，目前的印刷技术依赖于湿工艺，如丝网或喷墨印刷，这需要大量开发油墨或解决方案。这些通常是不纯的，可能与可生物降解的纸基材不相容。这项工作的目标是设计和展示一种变革性的干添加剂纳米制造方法，使环保纸质电子产品的打印成为可能。直接在可生物降解的纸基基材上干印多材料和多功能结构的独特能力是未来环保电子产品和传感器制造的一个有吸引力的解决方案。该项目的成果还将减少“电子垃圾”。电子产品一般在使用后被丢弃，废料的数量，包括塑料基板，正在急剧增加。使用可生物降解的纸基材允许从摇篮到坟墓的重复使用和回收。这项研究创造了几个学科之间的协同作用，包括纳米材料研究、设备工程和柔性电子，并将有助于培养一支熟练的、多学科的制造劳动力。这项工作将影响许多市场，包括消费电子、医疗保健、国防、汽车和航空航天，最终将帮助美国保持其在制造业的领导地位，并进一步增强其经济繁荣。本研究旨在为未来在可生物降解纸上制造印刷电子产品建立理论和实验基础，克服目前在制造多材料和多功能设备和传感器方面面临的环保挑战。本研究中产生的基础科学大大加强了我们对基于干纳米颗粒的二维和三维先进材料和混合结构的打印概念的理解，这些打印概念是在可生物降解的基材上进行的，具有微纳米级的分辨率。该研究采用非平衡激光烧蚀和烧结工艺，在可生物降解的纸基上生成和结晶各种纳米颗粒材料，包括半导体、电介质、导体以及新兴的多功能和量子材料。这使得基于激光的多材料和干式印刷方法能够制造具有广泛技术重要材料和设计的柔性混合可生物降解纸电子产品。具体来说，本研究旨在i)探索纳米颗粒的受控、按需干燥印刷及其在可生物降解基板上的烧结机制；ii)了解纳米颗粒在纸质基板上的烧结机制，并通过实验和计算揭示不同能量和时间尺度下单材料和多材料图案的结构和形态演变。iii)研究印刷电子和传感器的电气和机械性能和可靠性。在这项研究中发展的科学发现和工程概念使未来在可生物降解的纸基基材上制造多材料和多功能电子和传感器成为可能。该项目由材料研究部（DMR）、刺激竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）和民用、机械和制造创新部（CMMI）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Future Manufacturing Seed Grant (FMSG) EcoManufacturing project supports scientific and engineering research enabling the future manufacturing of eco-friendly electronics and sensors printed on paper. Printing places desired materials only where needed, eliminating hazardous waste generation and reducing the pollution associated with traditional electronics manufacturing processes. However, current printing technologies rely on wet processes such as screen or inkjet printing that require extensive development of inks or solutions. These are often impure and can be incompatible with biodegradable paper substrates. The goal of this work is to design and demonstrate a transformative dry additive nanomanufacturing approach that enables the printing of eco-friendly papertronics. The unique ability to dry print multimaterial and multifunctional structures directly on biodegradable paper-based substrates is an attractive solution for future manufacturing of eco-friendly electronics and sensors. The results of this project will also reduce “e-waste”. Electronics are generally discarded after use, and the amount of waste materials, including plastic substrates, is increasing dramatically. The use of biodegradable paper substrates allows for reuse and recycling, from cradle to grave. This research creates synergy amongst several disciplines, including nanomaterials research, device engineering, and flexible electronics, and will contribute to the development of a skilled, multidisciplinary manufacturing workforce. This work will impact many markets, including consumer electronics, healthcare, defense, automotive and aerospace, and will ultimately help the U.S. to retain its leadership in manufacturing and further enhance its economic prosperity.This research aims to establish the theoretical and experimental foundations underpinning future manufacturing of printed electronics on biodegradable papers, overcoming the existing eco-friendly challenges in fabricating multimaterial and multifunctional devices and sensors. The fundamental science generated in this research significantly strengthens our understanding of dry nanoparticle-based printing concepts for 2D and 3D advanced materials and hybrid structures on biodegradable substrates with micro and nanoscale resolutions. The research employs nonequilibrium laser ablation and sintering processes for energy and time-resolved generation and crystallization of various nanoparticle materials, including semiconductors, dielectrics, conductors, as well as emerging multifunctional and quantum materials onto biodegradable paper substrates. This enables a laser-based multimaterial and dry printing approach to fabricate flexible hybrid biodegradable papertronics with a broad spectrum of technologically important materials and designs. Specifically, this research is designed to i) explore controlled, on-demand dry printing of nanoparticles and their sintering mechanisms on biodegradable substrates, ii) understand nanoparticle sintering mechanisms on paper substrates and unravel the structural and morphological evolution of single and multimaterial patterns at different energy and time scales both experimentally and computationally, and iii) investigate the electrical and mechanical performance and reliability of printed papertronics and sensors. The scientific discoveries and engineering concepts developed in this research enable future manufacturing of multimaterial and multifunctional electronics and sensors on biodegradable paper-based substrates.This project is jointly funded by the Division of Materials Research (DMR), the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.