Transient electronics is an emerging class of electronics that has attracted a lot of attention because of its potential as an environmental-friendly alternative to the existing end-of-life product disposal or treatments. However, the controlled degradation of transient electronics under environmentally benign conditions remains a challenge. In this work, the tunable degradation of transient electronics including passive resistor devices and active memory devices was realized by photodegradable thin polymer films comprising fullerene derivatives, [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl esters (PCBM). The photodegradation of polymer:PCBM under an aqueous environment is triggered by ultraviolet (UV) light. Experimental results demonstrate that the addition of PCBM in commodity polymers, including but not limited to polystyrene, results in a catalytic effect on polymer photodegradation when triggered by UV light. The degradation mechanism of transient electronics is ascribed to the photodegradation of polymer:PCBM encapsulation layers caused by the synergistic effect between UV and water exposure. The polymer:PCBM encapsulation system presented herein offers a simple way to achieve the realization of light-triggered device degradation for bioapplication and expands the material options for tailorable degradation of transient electronics.
Keywords: controllable degradation; encapsulation layer; fullerene; phototriggerable; transient electronics.