Printable Electronics

The paper circuit board is completely rendered to ash when burned – not an entirely "green" method of disposal, but perhaps better than leaving its components to leach into the environment

Environment

Single-use paper circuit board can be burnt to ash when discarded

Single-use electronics pose a challenge, as the toxic materials in them shouldn't be released into the environment, yet those substances are hard to reclaim. Scientists have developed what could be a solution, in the form of a paper circuit board.

Biodegradable components could come to a store ... and then a compost heap near you

Environment

Compostable electronics could ease the e-waste problem

Researchers from the Young Investigator Network at Karlsruhe Institute for Technology (KIT) in Germany are developing printed electronics from natural and compostable materials that could help make a dent in the millions of tons of electronic waste piling up worldwide each year.

The functioning Smart Sensor Label prototype

Science

Electronic label indicates if perishable items have gotten too hot or too cold

Are you sure that the chicken you just bought has been kept cool from the time it left the plant to the moment you stuck it in your shopping cart? Well, you could be if it had one of Thinfilm Electronics' Smart Sensor Labels on the packaging.

The particle-free silver ink is here applied to a thin, stretchy plastic film to make a flexible silver electrode

Science

Particle-free silver ink developed for printable electronics

A new particle-free silver ink, used in the field of printable electronics, is said to offer several advantages over traditional silver ink.