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Printable, Transparent, and Flexible Touch Panels Working in Sunlight and Moist Environments
Author(s) -
Vuorinen Tiina,
Zakrzewski Mari,
Rajala Satu,
Lupo Donald,
Vanhala Jukka,
Palovuori Karri,
Tuukkanen Sampo
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
advanced functional materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.069
H-Index - 322
eISSN - 1616-3028
pISSN - 1616-301X
DOI - 10.1002/adfm.201401140
Subject(s) - materials science , substrate (aquarium) , 3d printing , coating , inkwell , graphene , nanotechnology , automotive industry , composite material , oceanography , aerospace engineering , geology , engineering
The ongoing revolution of touch‐based user interfaces sets new requirements for touch panel technologies, including the need to operate in a wide range of environments. Such touch panels need to endure moisture and sunlight. Moreover, they often need to be curved or flexible. Thus, there is a need for new technologies suitable, for example, for home appliances used in the kitchen or the bathroom, automotive applications, and e‐paper. In this work, the development of transparent and flexible touch panels for moist environments is reported. A piezoelectric polymer, poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF), is used as a functional substrate material. Transparent electrodes are fabricated on both sides of a PVDF film using a graphene‐based ink and spray coating. The excellent performance of the touch panels is demonstrated in moist and underwater conditions. Also, the transparent device shows very small pyroelectric response to radiative heating in comparison to a non‐transparent device. Solution processable electrode materials in combination with functional substrates allow the low‐cost and high‐throughput manufacturing of touch panels using printing technologies.