2025-06-02 バージニア工科大学
The recyclable circuit created by teams from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Chemistry. Photo by Alex Parrish for Virginia Tech.
バージニア工科大学（Virginia Tech）の研究チームは、完全にリサイクル可能で自己修復機能を持つ電子回路を開発しました。この新技術は、従来の電子廃棄物問題に対処し、持続可能な電子機器の実現に向けた重要な一歩とされています。
◆研究チームは、ポリマーと液体金属を組み合わせた新しい材料を用いて、柔軟で再利用可能な回路基板を作成しました。この材料は、損傷を受けても自己修復する能力を持ち、再加熱することで元の形状と機能を回復します。また、使用後は材料を分解して再利用することが可能であり、従来の電子機器に比べて環境への負荷を大幅に低減できます。
◆この技術は、ウェアラブルデバイスや一時的な電子機器など、短期間の使用が想定される製品に特に適しており、将来的には広範な応用が期待されています。
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.vt.edu/articles/2025/05/eng-me-bartlett-worch-recyclable-circuits.html
- https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.202501341
リサイクル可能で弾力性のあるエレクトロニクスのための液体金属-ビトリマー導電性複合材料 Liquid Metal-Vitrimer Conductive Composite for Recyclable and Resilient Electronics
Dong Hae Ho, Meng Jiang, Ravi Tutika, Joshua C. Worch, Michael D. Bartlett
Advanced Materials Published: 01 June 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202501341
Abstract
Electronic devices are ubiquitous in modern society, yet their poor recycling rates contribute to substantial economic losses and worsening environmental impacts from electronic waste (E-waste) disposal. Here, recyclable and healable electronics are reported through a vitrimer-liquid metal (LM) microdroplet composite. These electrically conductive, yet plastic-like composites display mechanical qualities of rigid thermosets and recyclability through a dynamic covalent polymer network. The composite exhibits a high glass transition temperature, good solvent resistance, high electrical conductivity, and recyclability. The vitrimer synthesis proceeds without the need for a catalyst or a high curing temperature, which enables facile fabrication of the composite materials. The as-synthesized vitrimer exhibits a fast relaxation time with reconfigurability and shape memory. The electrically conductive composite exhibits high electrical conductivity with LM volume loading as low as 5 vol.%. This enables the fabrication of fully vitrimer-based circuit boards consisting of sensors and indicator LEDs integrated with LM-vitrimer conductive wiring. Electrical self-healing and thermally triggered material healing are further demonstrated with the composites. The vitrimer and LM-composite provide a pathway toward fully recyclable, mechanically robust, and reconfigurable electronics, thus advancing the field of electronic materials.
