Comparison of biodegradable substrates for printed organic electronic devices

Building on the results of the green chemistry movement, the development of biodegradable strain sensors and OLEDs, produced from sustainable materials and solvents, is presented. The choice of solvents and substrate is discussed in the context of terms relevant to printing, namely solvent solubility parameters, surface wetting envelopes and surface roughness. A new method for producing biodegradable and flat substrates from a common and commercially available cellulose diacetate foil is presented. Challenges associated with working with biodegradable foils are presented and different techniques are discussed to ultimately overcome these challenges and produce functional devices. Lastly, many green solvents and several commercially available biodegradable foils are compared for consideration in future work.