# Autonomous self-healing supramolecular polymer transistors for skin electronics

## TL;DR

Researchers developed self-healing stretchable transistors using supramolecular polymers, enabling durable skin-like electronics.

## Contribution

The novel use of a single supramolecular polymer matrix across all transistor layers enables autonomous self-healing and maintains electrical performance.

## Key findings

- A supramolecular polymer matrix was used for all transistor layers, ensuring adhesion and electrical performance after self-healing.
- Self-healing skin-like circuits, including NAND, NOR gates, and inverters, were successfully fabricated.
- This approach advances practical self-healing electronics for bio-integrated applications.

## Abstract

Skin-like field-effect transistors are key elements of bio-integrated devices for future user-interactive electronic-skin applications. Despite recent rapid developments in skin-like stretchable transistors, imparting self-healing ability while maintaining necessary electrical performance to these transistors remains a challenge. Herein, we describe a stretchable polymer transistor capable of autonomous self-healing. The active material consists of a blend of an electrically insulating supramolecular polymer with either semiconducting polymers or vapor-deposited metal nanoclusters. A key feature is to employ the same supramolecular self-healing polymer matrix for all active layers, i.e., conductor/semiconductor/dielectric layers, in the skin-like transistor. This provides adhesion and intimate contact between layers, which facilitates effective charge injection and transport under strain after self-healing. Finally, we fabricate skin-like self-healing circuits, including NAND and NOR gates and inverters, both of which are critical components of arithmetic logic units. This work greatly advances practical self-healing skin electronics.

Integrating self-healing capabilities into skin-like stretchable transistors presents a persistent challenge. Here, by using a supramolecular polymer matrix, the authors develop autonomous self-healing transistors and skin-like logic circuits.