Reversible photo-patterning of soft conductive materials via spatially-defined supramolecular assembly

Chem Commun (Camb). 2016 Jun 28;52(54):8455-8. doi: 10.1039/c6cc03579e.

Abstract

A strategy for reversible patterning of soft conductive materials is described, based upon a combination of peptide-based block copolymer hydrogelators and photo-thermally-active carbon nanotubes. This composite displays photo-responsive gelation at application-relevant timescales (<10 s), allowing for rapid and spatially-defined construction of conductive patterns (>100 S m(-1)), which, additionally, hold the capability to revert to sol upon sonication for reprocessing.