3R Electronics: Scalable Fabrication of Resilient, Repairable, and Recyclable Soft‐Matter Electronics

Abstract E‐waste is rapidly turning into another man‐made disaster. It is proposed that a paradigm shift toward a more sustainable future can be made through soft‐matter electronics that are resilient, repairable if damaged, and recyclable (3R), provided that they achieve the same level of maturity as industrial electronics. This includes high‐resolution patterning, multilayer implementation, microchip integration, and automated fabrication. Herein, a novel architecture of materials and methods for microchip‐integrated condensed soft‐matter 3R electronics is demonstrated. The 3R function is enabled by a biphasic liquid metal‐based composite, a block copolymer with nonpermanent physical crosslinks, and an electrochemical technique for material recycling. In addition, an autonomous laser‐patterning method for scalable circuit patterning with an exceptional resolution of <30 µm in seconds is developed. The phase‐shifting property of the BCPs is utilized for vapor‐assisted “soldering” circuit repairing and recycling. The process is performed entirely at room temperature, thereby opening the door for a wide range of heat‐sensitive and biodegradable polymers for the next generation of green electronics. The implementation and recycling of sophisticated skin‐mounted patches with embedded sensors, electrodes, antennas, and microchips that build a digital fingerprint of the human electrophysiological signals is demonstrated by collecting mechanical, electrical, optical, and thermal data from the epidermis.