Fully printed, all-carbon, recyclable electronics

Abstract

The rapid growth of electronic waste must be curtailed to prevent accumulation of environmentally and biologically toxic materials, which are essential to traditional electronics. The recent proliferation of transient electronics has focused predominantly on biocompatibility, and studies reporting material recapture have only demonstrated reuse of conducting materials. Meanwhile, the ideal solution to the electronic waste epidemic-recapture and reuse of all materials-has been largely neglected. Here we show complete recyclability of all materials in printed, all-carbon electronics using paper substrates, semiconducting carbon nanotubes, conducting graphene, and insulating crystalline nanocellulose. The addition of mobile ions to the dielectric produced significant improvements in switching speed, subthreshold swing, and among the highest on-current for printed transistors. These devices evinced superlative stability over 6 months, after which they are shown to be controllably decomposed for complete recycling of materials and re-printing of devices with similar performance to baseline devices. The printing of all-carbon, recyclable electronics presents a new path toward green electronics with potential to mitigate the environmental impact of electronic waste. We anticipate all-carbon, recyclable electronics to be a watershed, facilitating internet-of-everything applications, such as ubiquitous sensors for continuous monitoring of diseases or environmental conditions, while preserving carbon neutrality in the device lifecycle.