|
|||||
|
|
Assembly of Foldable 3D Microstructures Using Graphene Hinges |
|
| Authors: | Seungyun Lim Haiwen Luan Shiwei Zhao Yongjun Lee Yihui Zhang Yonggang Huang John A. Rogers Jong-Hyun Ahn |
| Affiliation: | 1. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722 Republic of Korea;2. Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA;3. Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191 P. R. China;4. Applied Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Center for Flexible Electronics Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 P. R. China;5. Departments of Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA;6. Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208 USA |
| Abstract: | Origami/kirigami-inspired 3D assembly approaches have recently attracted attention for a variety of applications, such as advanced optoelectronic devices and biomedical sensors. The results reported here describe an approach to construct classes of multiple foldable 3D microstructures that involve deformations that typical conductive materials, such as conventional metal films, cannot tolerate. Atomically thin graphene sheets serve as folding hinges during a process of 2D to 3D conversion via a deterministic buckling process. The exceptional mechanical properties of graphene enable the controlled, geometric transformation of a 2D precursor bonded at selective sites on a prestretched elastomer into folded 3D microstructures, in a reversible manner without adverse effects on the electrical properties. Experimental and computational investigations of the folding mechanisms for such types of 3D objects reveal the underlying physics and the dependence of the process on the thickness of the graphene/supporting films that define the hinges. |
| Keywords: | 3D assembly compressive buckling foldable structures graphene origami |