Stimulus-responsive conductive inks for remote sensing applications

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The advent of the internet has truly connected the world, enabling an unprecedented access to remotely-stored data. Recent advances in science and engineering are enabling the development of a new class of inexpensive, portable sensors, increasingly allowing people to independently collect data regarding their world (e.g. thermometers, global positioning system), their own health and wellness (e.g. portable glucose testers), and their daily activities (e.g. integrated pedometers). Similarly, we are increasingly observing the miniaturization of complex testing systems, which can be moved out of the lab and into the field. ***One avenue to realizing portable, inexpensive sensors is through the use of stimulus-responsive materials - materials which can sense a change in their environment and undergo a measurable change in property. The goals of this proposal are: (1) to develop and explore materials which can undergo a change in electrical properties in response to a desired stimulus, and (2) to integrate these materials into functional sensing systems, particularly based around radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. RFID tags are a mature technology which are relatively inexpensive, and which can be remotely monitored using a hand-held reader. RFID tags are utilized extensively in product tracking, as they return a unique identification number when interrogated. I envision incorporating novel stimulus-responsive conductive materials into the antennas of RFID tags, and using the change in signal reflectance that occurs as the properties of the sensing material change to quantify the stimulus of interest. In the spirit of developing low cost sensors, a focus of the work will be to utilize inexpensive and scalable printing techniques to pattern the stimulus-responsive materials. The relationship between the electrical properties of the materials and the deposition techniques used to pattern them will also be explored. Through incorporation of stimulus-responsive materials with tailored properties, sensors for environmental monitoring, chemical detection, and food safety can be developed. **