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Self-Destructing Electronics

The downside of electronic devices that are constantly being improved and replaced is that most of the “old” devices end up in landfills, where they may take centuries – or even millennia – to break down. But researchers have now developed a way to reduce electronic waste and improve sustainability in manufacturing by creating devices that can either dissolve away or easily be broken down into their molecular components to be recycled.

The work is the result of a collaborative effort between two multidisciplinary research groups. The initial project was to develop transient electronics for biomedical implants that dissolve in water. This latest work expands on the triggers to include ultraviolet light, mechanical stress and heat.

The heat-triggered, self-destruct devices consist of magnesium circuits printed on thin, flexible substrates. Tiny drops of a weak acid encapsulated in wax are used to coat the device. When heat is applied, the wax melts, releasing the acid, which dissolves the device within a couple of minutes. By tuning the thickness of the wax, concentration of the acid, and the temperature, the speed of the reaction can be controlled. Different parts of a device can be coated with waxes of different melting points to selectively eliminate some portions while preserving others. They have even developed a means to control the reaction remotely by embedding a radio-frequency receiver and an inductive heating coil into the device, allowing a user to activate the self-destruct sequence on demand.

For information: Scott White, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Aerospace Engineering Department, 306 Talbot Lab, 104S. Wright Street, M/C 236, Urbana, IL 61801; phone: 217-333-1077; email: swhite@illinois.edu; Web site: www.illinois.edu  

   

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