Scientists at La Trobe University have produced a new, powerful electricity-conducting material, in research which could revolutionize smartphones and wearable technologies like medical devices.
The new technique uses hyaluronic acid, well known due to its popularity in skincare, applied directly to a gold-plated surface to create a thinner, more durable film, or polymer, used to conduct electricity in devices like biosensors.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Wren Greene says the technique could lead to major improvements in the function, cost, and useability of devices like touchscreens and wearable biosensors.
“Conductive polymers as we know them were developed nearly 50 years ago and although they’re exciting, they haven’t lived up to their potential in that time. Often they are difficult to fabricate, as thin films don’t conduct electricity very well, aren’t transparent and can have highly variable properties,” Greene says.
“Through our method, called ‘tethered dopant templating’, we’ve created a robust way of making a conductive polymer that is flexible, durable, can conduct electricity as well as metals and is easily reproduced – so it’s scalable.”
Conductive polymers are synthetic materials which are widely used across all smart devices, from touch screens on smartphones to medical devices that regulate a patient’s drug dosage and deliver