STTR Phase I: Biodegradable Electronic Sensors to Measure Environmental Data for Perishable Goods

这个小型企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是最大限度地减少食物浪费，减少电子传感器废物，并开发一种印刷的、可生物降解的电子传感器。根据联合国的数据，全世界每年的食物垃圾价值为2.4万亿美元，其中大部分费用归因于运输。电子垃圾约为5000万吨/年，全球回收不到18%。目前，一次性传感器被用来防止食物浪费，但这些传感器导致了电子垃圾问题。拟议的打印、可生物降解传感器将提高对科学和技术的理解，从一次性传感器转变为按需生物可降解传感器。拟议中的技术所涉及的市场机会在食品供应链中超过3000亿美元，在更广泛的易腐烂市场中甚至更大。与使用一次性或半可回收材料的其他公司相比，向印刷、可生物降解传感器的技术转变将提供竞争优势。这个小型企业技术转让(STTR)第一阶段项目涉及开发碳基、可打印的电子材料，以生产用于测量温度和湿度的可生物降解传感平台。电子传感器的激增继续提供对变革性数据的访问，改善健康、环境和交通。然而，由此产生的电子传感器废物是一个严重的问题，阻碍了某些应用的使用。该项目将使用石墨烯作为导电材料，碳纳米管用于半导体，晶态纳米纤维素用于绝缘油墨，这些油墨可以打印到一层纤维素薄膜(即纸张)上的温度和湿度传感器中。技术障碍包括这些全碳墨水的共集成、目标电学性能的实现以及功能传感器的产量。该项目的目标包括：(1)配制纳米材料油墨，用于在可生物降解的基材上进行共打印；(2)开发气雾剂喷墨打印工艺；(3)展示打印的碳基纳米材料的温度和湿度传感器。为了实现这些目标，需要在这些碳基墨水的配方方面进行创新，并设计出能够产生可靠的温度和湿度测量的传感器配置。将探索十几种不同的传感器设计，并将对墨水和传感器设计进行迭代调整。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact / commercial potential of this Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project is to minimize food waste, reduce electronic sensor waste, and develop a printed, biodegradable, electronic sensor. According to the United Nations, food waste is valued at $2.4 trillion/year worldwide with the majority of the expense attributed to transport. Electronic waste is approximately 50 million tons/year with less than 18% being recycled globally. Currently, disposable sensors are used to prevent food waste, yet these sensors contribute to the electronic waste problem. The proposed printed, biodegradable sensors will enhance scientific and technological understanding to move from disposable to on-demand biodegradable sensors. The market opportunity addressed by the proposed technology is over $300 billion in the food supply chain and even larger in the broader perishable markets. The technological shift to printed, biodegradable sensors will provide a competitive advantage compared to other companies that are using disposable or semi-recyclable materials. This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I project involves the development of carbon-based, printable, electronic materials to produce a biodegradable sensing platform for measuring temperature and humidity. The proliferation of electronic sensors continues to provide access to transformative data, improving health, the environment, and transportation. However, resultant electronic sensor waste is a critical concern that precludes use for certain applications. This project will use graphene for conducting, carbon nanotubes for semiconducting, and crystalline nanocellulose for insulating inks that can be printed into temperature and humidity sensors on a thin film of cellulose (i.e., paper). Technical obstacles include the co-integration of these all-carbon inks, realization of target electrical properties, and yield of functional sensors. The goals of this project include: (1) the formulation of nanomaterial inks for their co-printing onto biodegradable substrates; (2) the development of aerosol jet printing processes; and (3) the demonstration of temperature and humidity sensors from the printed carbon-based nanomaterials. To achieve these goals, innovations in the formulation of these carbon-based inks will be required, along with the design of sensor configurations that yield reliable temperature and humidity measurements. More than a dozen distinct sensor designs will be explored, and iterative tuning of ink and sensor designs will take place.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.