NSF Award
9960374
This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new material that combines good electronic and optical properties with excellent flexibility and elongation as an alternative to indium-tin oxide (ITO). Current flat panel displays contain an optically transparent electrode usually made from ITO, which has acceptable conductivity and good transparency in the visible region, but has poor flexibility and durability and can not be processed in large films. The new material contains both an elastomeric and a conducting component. The conducting component is based on an intrinsically conducting transparent polymer. Phase I will synthesize and characterize the new material, and then optimize its structure and formulation. Phase I will also spin cast this polymeric material from water dispersion and characterize the properties of the resulting thin film.<br/><br/>Phase II is expected to cover the synthesis, development, and application of the new transparent conducting flexible material, which could replace ITO in displays and other electronic devices. Transparent conducting materials with good mechanical properties could also be used as antistatic packaging materials for electronic components, and as electrostatic charge dissipation coatings for clean rooms.
