Encapsulation is integral to electronic devices for maintaining long-term functionality and stability. While a variety of materials and solutions are available for conventional silicon-based electronics, not all of them are suitable for flexible optoelectronic devices. Typically, these devices require materials with low processing temperature, while maintaining both the optical and electrical functionality. Simple deposition and low cost are added advantages. In this work, we show that pure polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and its composites with metal oxide nanoparticles such as zinc oxide (ZnO) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) are suitable encapsulants for flexible electronics. These coatings are electrically and thermally insulating, optically transparent (controllable by the amount of metal oxides), hydrophobic (contact angle  >  114^∘), and offer good environmental protection. The coatings can be prepared by a simple spin coating process and annealed at temperatures less than 150 ^∘C. The performance of pure PDMS and PDMS-metal oxides were evaluated using different characterisation techniques. These coatings were also tested on printed silver nanowire patterns and commercial flexible NFC (near field communication) tags. The addition of up to 2 wt.% ZnO and TiO₂ nanoparticles was found to improve the properties of PDMS, improving the environmental protection (showing a Bode impedance of the order of 10 8Ω - cm2 ), without significantly affecting the optical transparency ( > 73% transmittance).

中文翻译：

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PDMS-金属氧化物纳米复合材料作为柔性电子器件的透明封装剂


封装是电子设备不可或缺的一部分，可维持长期功能和稳定性。尽管有多种材料和解决方案可用于传统的硅基电子器件，但并非所有材料和解决方案都适合柔性光电器件。通常，这些器件需要加工温度低的材料，同时保持光学和电功能。简单的沉积和低成本是额外的优点。在这项工作中，我们证明纯聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）及其与氧化锌（ZnO）和二氧化钛（TiO ₂ ）等金属氧化物纳米粒子的复合材料是柔性电子产品的合适封装剂。这些涂层具有电绝缘、热绝缘、光学透明（可通过金属氧化物的量控制）、疏水性（接触角> 114 ^∘ ），并具有良好的环保性。涂层可以通过简单的旋涂工艺制备，并在低于 150 ^∘ C 的温度下退火。使用不同的表征技术评估纯 PDMS 和 PDMS-金属氧化物的性能。这些涂层还在印刷银纳米线图案和商用柔性 NFC（近场通信）标签上进行了测试。研究发现添加高达 2 wt.% 的 ZnO 和 TiO ₂ 纳米粒子可以改善 PDMS 的性能，改善环境保护（显示出 108Ω-cm2 量级的伯德阻抗），而不会显着影响光学透明度（>73% 透射率）。