Flexible, stretchable, conformal electronics, and smart textiles: environmental life cycle considerations for emerging a
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Prospective Article
Flexible, stretchable, conformal electronics, and smart textiles: environmental life cycle considerations for emerging applications Karsten Schischke and Nils F. Nissen, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung eV, Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, Berlin, Germany Martin Schneider-Ramelow, Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der angewandten Forschung eV, Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration, Berlin, Germany; Forschungsschwerpunkt Technologien der Mikroperipherik, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany Address all correspondence to Karsten Schischke at [email protected] (Received 3 July 2019; accepted 2 December 2019)
Abstract The development of flexible, stretchable, conformal electronics, and smart textiles for wearables and other applications by now lacks a guidance toward environmentally benign product concepts. This article facilitates understanding of environmental implications of material choices and design decisions to help material scientists and product developers alike to consider sustainability implications of their research, innovation, and development. The more such electronics enter the market, the more these composite products will emerge as an ecological problem, unless appropriate measures are taken at the early research stage.
Introduction With the advent of flexible, stretchable, and conformal electronics for wearables and smart textiles in biomedical and consumer health and safety applications, a whole new class of products is emerging with considerable potential for applications ranging from robotics to sports and fashion. While this is still a comparatively small market, there is the genuine likelihood of mass application in the medium-term future. Structural electronics, enabled by stretchable and conformal electronics,[1] “is a disruptive megatrend that will transform traditional electronics from being components-in-a-box into truly invisible electronics that are structurally integrated where needed”.[2] As appealing as this vision might be, it also means that resource and carbon-intensive, potentially harmful, and difficult-to-recycle electronics will penetrate all kinds of objects. This paper analyses a whole range of emerging and converging technologies, and electronic applications in terms of sustainability implications and provides guidance on how to minimize the environmental footprint of these: Flexible electronic systems are bendable and dominated currently by hybrid systems of conventional rigid electronic components assembled on foil-type polymer substrates. Also, textiles can serve as a carrier for flexible electronics systems, opening up the large field of smart fabrics in fashion and sports, medical applications, protective equipment, and technical textiles. A future low-cost variant of flexible electronics likely will be paper electronics with circuitries printed or otherwise applied on paper substrates. Stretchable electronics are not only bendable but can also adhe
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