Massachusetts: The e-waste problem continues to grow globally and could be exacerbated by the production of new types of flexible electronics such as robotics, wearables, health monitors and single-use devices.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Utah and MET have developed a new type of flexible material that will not only allow the components to be reused, but also enable the creation of more complex multi-circuits on a large scale.
In a paper published in the journal RSC: Applied Polymers, researchers describe the new material.
“We see e-waste as a current global crisis that will only get worse as more devices are made,” said MIT assistant professor Thomas J. Wallin.
Most of such studies have focused on completely different polymer materials, but they really ignore its commercial aspect.
Kapton has several advantages including great thermal and insulating properties and the quick availability of this material.
