Electronic polymers: Fluorine-free ferroelectrics, fabricating conductive films, and biocompatible organic electronics.
Researchers from Case Western Reserve University, Vanderbilt University, Pennsylvania State University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Tennessee State University, and University of Tennessee created a ferroelectric polymer for infrared detectors and sensors in wearable electronics that is made without fluorine. The most common ferroelectric polymer is poly(vinylidene fluoride), or PVDF, which is considered a ‘forever chemical’ that does not naturally degrade in the environment.
The new fluorine-free polymer is both flexible and has tunable electronic properties. Additionally, it is acoustically compatible with biological tissues, giving it potential applications in sensors for ultrasound diagnostic tools.
“How this material generates its electric properties is also fundamentally new. Unlike current ferroelectric materials, it doesn’t have to crystallize to lock in the polarity that gives it electrical properties,” said Lei Zhu, a professor of macromolecular science and engineering at Case School of Engineering, in a press release. “We’re still in the development stage of synthesizing small quantities and investigating the properties. But we’re excited about the potential to replace environmentally harmful plastics in sensors and detectors.” [1]
Researchers from La Trobe University, Deakin University, Monash University, and Swinburne University of Technology developed a new method to create transparent conductive polymer films for touchscreens and wearable biosensors that are thinner and more conductive.
“Currently, it is difficult to consistently reproduce conductive polymers at the high quality needed for health and medical monitoring and drug delivery devices,” said Saimon Moraes Silva, senior researcher and Director of La Trobe’s Biomedical and Environmental Sensor Technology (BEST) Research Centre, in a release.
The typical method for creating conductive polymers involves adding hyaluronic acid to a mixture of water and polymer-forming particles. In the new technique, hyaluronic acid is applied directly to a gold-plated surface, making them simpler to fabricate while also providing control over the 2D PEDOT material’s conductive properties, shape, and appearance.
“Through our method, called ‘tethered dopant templating’, we’ve created a robust way of making a conductive polymer that is flexible, durable, can conduct electricity as well as metals and is easily reproduced – so it’s scalable,” said Wren Greene, an associate professor at La Trobe University, in a press release. [2]
Researchers from the University of Windsor, the University of Ottawa, and the Canadian Light Source at the University of Saskatchewan combined semiconducting polymers and collagen to create biocompatible organic electronics that could be worn on the skin or implanted.
The collagen provided skin-like rigidity and elasticity, while a polyester polymer gave the devices weeks-long stability but also eventual biodegradability. In tests, the new material matched the performance of devices made from non-biodegradable components.
“We want our devices to be stable enough that they can be used, but unstable enough to not end up accumulating and not creating any kind of problems in the environment, such as microplastic pollution,” said Rondeau-Gagné, an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Windsor, in a statement. “We’re concerned about the environmental footprint and what happens when you dispose of these future technologies.”
The researchers also see applications in agriculture, where it could be used in sensors that monitor leaf growth. [3]
[1] J. Huang, G. Rui, Y. Yan, et al. Fluorine-free strongly dipolar polymers exhibit tunable ferroelectricity. Science 389, 69-72 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ads4702
[2] L. A. Nascimento, K. S. Fraysse, K. Krause, et al. A Scalable Synthetic Approach for Producing Homogeneous, Large Area 2D Highly Conductive Polymers. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2025 17 (31), 45042-45055 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c06970
[3] P. Kulatunga, A. Pillon, S. P. McKillop, et al. Design and Development of Biocompatible, Flexible, and Biodegradable Collagen-Based Organic Field-Effect Transistors. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces 2025 17 (22), 32691-32700 https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.5c03443
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