Polymer Metallization & Printed Electronics
Polymer electronics and printed electronics are jointly reshaping how functional devices are manufactured. Polymer metallization enables the integration of metal-like electrical conductivity with the flexibility and durability of polymers, while printed electronics offer a scalable, low-cost route to fabricate such components directly on polymer substrates. Together, they unlock lightweight, adaptable electronic systems with growing impact in healthcare, wearables, consumer electronics, and emerging smart technologies.
Our current work explores:
- Multifield modeling framework for CSAM-based polymer metallization
- Explorations of novel surface structures, design and development of multifunctional surfaces
- Multi-scale additive manufacturing of smart films on polymer substrates
- S. Akin, et al., "One-step fabrication of functionalized electrodes on 3D-printed polymers for triboelectric nanogenerators", Nano Energy, 2024. [Link]
- T. Chang, S. Akin, S. Chao, MBG. Jun, CH. Lee, "In situ spray polymerization of conductive polymers for personalized e-textiles", ACS Nano, 2023. [Link]
- S. Akin, C. Nath, MBG. Jun, "Selective surface metallization of 3D-printed polymers by cold-spray-assisted electroless deposition", ACS Applied Electronic Materials, 2023. [Link]
- S. Akin, S. Lee, S. Jo, DG. Ruzgar, K. Subramaniam, JT Tsai, MBG. Jun, "Cold spray-based rapid and scalable production of printed flexible electronics", Additive Manufacturing, 2022. [Link]
- T. Chang, S. Akin, S. Chao, MBG. Jun, CH. Lee, "A programmable dual-regime spray for large-scale and custom-designed electronic textiles", Advanced Materials, 2022. [Link]