In recent years, carbon materials derived from wood-based products like lignin and cellulose have garnered significant attention as electrodes for electronics and energy applications, [1]. However, traditional fabrication methods for powdered carbon based electrodes often involve multiple materials, such as polymeric binders, conductive filles and current collectors, leading to complex processes and interface-related issues [2]. Incorporating powdered carbon materials into stretchable devices necessitates ink formulations. These inks are patterned onto substrates using hard masks, followed by annealing to create stretchable carbon-based electrodes [3]. This process is time consuming and requires new hard masks every time the electrode designs are changed. In this work, we present a straightforward, maskless approach for fabricating conductive graphitic carbon patterns on a stretchable substrate through direct laser patterning of lignin [4]. The process begins with forming a lignin film on the elastomeric substrate, followed by laser patterning to create carbon structures with optimized sheet resistance as low as 10 Ω/sq and high porosity. These carbon patterns exhibit excellent electrical conductivity and a high surface area, making them suitable for use as electrodes for electronics applications such as sensors, and energy devices such as batteries and supercapacitors. The versatility of laser patterning method allows for fabricating intricate carbon patterns and stretchability of the substrate enables the electrodes to have mechanical properties suitable for integration into wearable devices, opening new avenues for the development of flexible and efficient energy storage solutions.
WWSC is a joint research center between KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Chalmers University of Technology and Linköping University. The base is a donation from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. The Swedish industry is supporting WWSC via the platform Treesearch.
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