Investigating Moldstar for Stretchable Electronics

Wearable technology emerged as one of the most promising innovations that are reshaping the way we interact with the world around us. Currently, there is a mechanical mismatch between the rigidity of these devices and the softness of our skin, but this can be improved upon. When making wearable and stretchable electronics, the most common material used is an elastomer. An elastomer provides mechanical stability, a soft surface, and protection from the environment for sensitive electronic components. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is the most common elastomer used because it is transparent, biodegradable, non-toxic, and you can easily modify the surface. Ecoflex is a commercially available ultrasoft and ultra-stretchable silicone elastomer that is ideal for skin-mounted soft electronics because it has a low Young’s modulus. In this work, we set out to expand the elastomer library by looking at different elastomers such as Smooth Sil, Mold Star, Dragon Skin, and Ecoflex. We propose to take advantage of these properties to create stretchable and wearable devices that are unattainable with single elastomers.