Develops Highly Conductive Healable Nanocomposite Materials

Prof. Seunghyun Baik, Prof. Hyungpil Moon, and Prof. Moon Ki Kim from SKKU’s School of Mechanical Engineering made a research report about the highly conductive completely reversible electron tunneling-assisted percolation network of silver nanosatellite particles for putty-like moldable and healable nanocomposites. Prof. Daewoo Suh (School of Mechanicl Engineering) and Prof. K. P. Faseela (Dept. of Energy Science) are co-first authors on the report. □ Deformable and healable conductive materials have received considerable attention due to their use in emerging future electronics, such as artificial human skin, internet of things, and bioelectronics, owing to their ability to recover from mechanical/electrical damage. However, their practical applications have been impeded by low electrical conductivity and irreversible conductivity degradation after breaking/healing cycles. □ The research team’s report is about the development of a highly conductive completely reversible electron tunneling-assisted percolation network of silver nanosatellite particles for putty-like moldable and healable nanocomposites. The densely and uniformly distributed silver nanosatellite particles with a bimodal size distribution are generated by the radical and reactive oxygen species-mediated vigorous etching and reduction reaction of silver flakes using tetrahydrofuran peroxide in a silicon rubber matrix. The close work function match between silicone and silver enables electron tunneling between nanosatellite particles, achieving high electrical conductivity and ~100% electrical healing efficiency. □ As an application demonstration, the highly conductive putty-like nanocomposites are employed as random-shaped electrical interconnectors, stably operating light-emitting diodes. An emergency electronics repair demonstration was also performed by a robot using the team’s nanocomposites. □ The research was published in Nature Communications. Daewoo Suh, K. P. Faseela, Wonjoon Kim, Chanyong Park, Jang Gyun Lim, Sungwon Seo, Moon Ki Kim, Hyungpil Moon, Seunghyun Baik, Electron tunneling of hierarchically structured silver nanosatellite particles for highly conductive healable nanocomposites, Nature Communications, 11, 2252 (May 2020), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15709-8 Hierarchically structured silver nanosatellite particles for the highly conductive, moldable, healable, and stable nanocomposites.