Paper-like electronic displays: Large-area rubber-stamped plastic sheets of electronics and microencapsulated electrophoretic inks

Electronic systems that use rugged lightweight plastics potentially offer attractive characteristics (low-cost processing, mechanical flexibility, large area coverage, etc.) that are not easily achieved with established silicon technologies. This paper summarizes work that demonstrates many of these characteristics in a realistic system: organic active matrix backplane circuits (256 transistors) for large (≈5 × 5-inch) mechanically flexible sheets of electronic paper, an emerging type of display. The success of this effort relies on new or improved processing techniques and materials for plastic electronics, including methods for (i) rubber stamping (microcontact printing) high-resolution (≈1 μm) circuits with low levels of defects and good registration over large areas, (ii) achieving low leakage with thin dielectrics deposited onto surfaces with relief, (iii) constructing high-performance organic transistors with bottom contact geometries, (iv) encapsulating these transistors, (v) depositing, in a repeatable way, organic semiconductors with uniform electrical characteristics over large areas, and (vi) low-temperature (≈100°C) annealing to increase the on/off ratios of the transistors and to improve the uniformity of their characteristics. The sophistication and flexibility of the patterning procedures, high level of integration on plastic substrates, large area coverage, and good performance of the transistors are all important features of this work. We successfully integrate these circuits with microencapsulated electrophoretic “inks” to form sheets of electronic paper.

Designing surfaces that kill bacteria on contact

Poly(4-vinyl-N-alkylpyridinium bromide) was covalently attached to glass slides to create a surface that kills airborne bacteria on contact. The antibacterial properties were assessed by spraying aqueous suspensions of bacterial cells on the surface, followed by air drying and counting the number of cells remaining viable (i.e., capable of growing colonies). Amino glass slides were acylated with acryloyl chloride, copolymerized with 4-vinylpyridine, and N-alkylated with different alkyl bromides (from propyl to hexadecyl). The resultant surfaces, depending on the alkyl group, were able to kill up to 94 ± 4% of Staphylococcus aureus cells sprayed on them. A surface alternatively created by attaching poly(4-vinylpyridine) to a glass slide and alkylating it with hexyl bromide killed 94 ± 3% of the deposited S. aureus cells. On surfaces modified with N-hexylated poly(4-vinylpyridine), the numbers of viable cells of another Gram-positive bacterium, Staphylococcus epidermidis, as well as of the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli, dropped more than 100-fold compared with the original amino glass. In contrast, the number of viable bacterial cells did not decline significantly after spraying on such common materials as ceramics, plastics, metals, and wood.

Synthetic zeolites and other microporous oxide molecular sieves

Use of synthetic zeolites and other microporous oxides since 1950 has improved insulated windows, automobile air-conditioning, refrigerators, air brakes on trucks, laundry detergents, etc. Their large internal pore volumes, molecular-size pores, regularity of crystal structures, and the diverse framework chemical compositions allow “tailoring” of structure and properties. Thus, highly active and selective catalysts as well as adsorbents and ion exchangers with high capacities and selectivities were developed. In the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries, zeolites have made possible cheaper and lead-free gasoline, higher performance and lower-cost synthetic fibers and plastics, and many improvements in process efficiency and quality and in performance. Zeolites also help protect the environment by improving energy efficiency, reducing automobile exhaust and other emissions, cleaning up hazardous wastes (including the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and other radioactive wastes), and, as specially tailored desiccants, facilitating the substitution of new refrigerants for the ozone-depleting chlorofluorocarbons banned by the Montreal Protocol.