Case Western Reserve University researchers have developed a new, environmentally safer class of plastics that can be used in various electrical applications including wearable sensors and electronics. The ferroelectric polymer is created without the use of fluorine.
Recently published in the journal Science, the patent pending material lays the groundwork for a new plastic free of forever chemicals. While the potential for the plastic is vast, the team do note that they are currently working to further improve the electric and elastic properties of the material.
"How this material generates its electric properties is also fundamentally new," said Lei Zhu, a professor of macromolecular science and engineering at the Case School of Engineering. "Unlike current ferroelectric materials, it doesn't have to crystallize to lock in the polarity that gives it electrical properties."
Not only is the material flexible, it also has tunable electronic properties which will allow it to be switched on and off.
While polymers have been used extensively in the past thanks to their flexibility and low weight, the dominant ferroelectric polymer PVDF is considered a “forever chemical” since it does not naturally degrade in the environment. To remedy this, the new plastic developed by the researchers is free of fluorine, allowing it to more readily break down.
"We're still in the development stage of synthesizing small quantities and investigating the properties," concluded Zhu. "But we're excited about the potential to replace environmentally harmful plastics in sensors and detectors."