📌Semiconducting Polymers, Biobased Polymers, and Soft Electronics

Organic semiconductors feature application versatility, flexibility, and usability compared to traditional crystalline silicon semiconductors. To fulfill real-life applications and commercialize soft electronics, many research efforts have been devoted to improving electronic devices' performance–stretchability properties, including the field-effect and electrochemical transistors. Besides the development of polymeric semiconductors, renewable and green materials have gained worldwide interest due to increasing global environmental awareness. Therefore, developing biobased and natural polymers is vital to eliminate the depletion deduction of fossil fuels and protect the natural environment from immense anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.

📌Phototransistors

Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) may not satisfy the explosively growing data transmission requirement because of its limited carrying capacity, transmission speed, bandwidth, and unreliable security. Light fidelity (Li-Fi) technology holds great promise as a visible and near-infrared light communication technology that integrates internet data transport. Therefore, developing conjugated/photoresponsive polymers and their phototransistor applications are indispensable devices to fulfill Li-Fi technology. Phototransistors can be categorized as nonvolatile memory, artificial synapse, and photodetectors, depending on their hysteresis and volatility. Therefore, trap engineering, chemical structure design, and morphological development are integrated to confer the photoresponse and light–matter interactions.

📌Low Dk, Df Polymers

Wi-Fi technology has been widely used daily, using invisible radio signals to transmit information. With the explosive growth in the transmission speed/capacity of information, it is expected that the working frequency will increasingly rise and reach the microwave band soon. Therefore, developing polymer insulators with a low dielectric constant (Dk) and dissipation factor (Df) values is essential in remedying signal loss during data transmission. Besides insulating substrates in printed circuits, photosensitive cover materials and photoresists are specially developed using low-k, liquid crystalline, and biobased polyimides.

📌Anion Exchange Membranes

Developing anion exchange stacks to perform water electrolysis to produce hydrogen will provide low-cost hydrogen effectively. Anion exchange membrane (AEM) has become a key material in water electrolysis, producing hydrogen for fuel cells and sustainable energy technology. With optimal structure design, the ions can permeate the AEM without damaging its morphology and solid-state structure with the intrinsic porosity created by the alicyclic monomers, chain extension, and crosslinking network. The AEM water electrolyzer can be stably operated even for seawater.