Researchers at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (PME) at the University of Chicago have seemingly broken the initial barrier to develop bendable, stretchable displays that rival OLED in their luminescence. The material they have designed can fold in half and stretch to twice its original length.
According to SciTechDaily, the material, which the researchers have documented in the scientific journal Nature Materials, came together through “combining knowledge from various fields, such as atomic models of new polymers and thermally activated delayed fluorescence.”
See also: Scientists create world’s first edible battery
The thin, extremely flexible nature of the new material lends its self towards wearable electronics, health monitoring, and possibly display applications that haven’t even been thought of yet.
“One of the most important components of nearly every consumer electronic we use today is a display, and we’ve combined knowledge from many different fields to create an entirely new display technology,” said Assistant Professor of Molecular Engineering Sihong Wang.
“This is the class of material you need to finally be able to develop truly flexible screens,” commented Juan de Pablo, Liew Family Professor of Molecular Engineering. “This work is really foundational and I expect it to allow many technologies that we haven’t even thought of yet.”
