Omnidirectional 3D printing of PEDOT:PSS aerogels with tunable electromechanical performance for unconventional stretchable interconnects and thermoelectrics

Abstract

The next generation of soft electronics will expand to the third dimension. This will require the integration of mechanically-compliant three-dimensional functional structures with stretchable materials. This study demonstrates omnidirectional direct ink writing (DIW) of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) aerogels with tunable electrical and mechanical performance, which can be integrated with soft substrates. Several PEDOT:PSS hydrogels were formulated for DIW and freeze-dried directly on stretchable substrates to form integrated aerogels displaying high shape fidelity and minimal shrinkage. The effect of additives and processing in the PEDOT:PSS hydro and aerogels morphology, and the link with their electromechanical properties was elucidated. This technology demonstrated 3D-structured stretchable interconnects and planar thermoelectric generators (TEGs) for skin electronics, as well as vertically-printed high aspect ratio thermoelectric pillars with a high ZT value of 3.2 10^-3 and ultra-low thermal conductivity of 0.065 W/(m K). Despite their comparatively low ZT, the aerogel pillars outpowered their dense counterparts in realistic energy harvesting scenarios where contact resistances cannot be ignored, and produced up to 26 nW/cm2 (corresponding to a gravimetric power density of 0.76 mW/kg) for a difference of temperature of 15 K. This work suggests promising advancements in soft and energy-efficiency electronic systems relevant to soft robotics and wearable.