Naturally derived polymer-based substrates for flexible and transient temperature sensors
Abstract Advances in biomaterials and fabrication enables thin-film electronics on sustainable substrates for medical, environmental, and agrifood applications. We evaluated three naturally derived materials, chitosan, triacetyl cellulose (TAC), and Agave silk fibers (ASFs), as flexible, transient device substrates. Chitosan supported resistive temperature detectors, TAC accommodated thermistors, and ASFs served for screen-printed silver layers. Devices evaluated over 25–75℃. RTDs exhibited 0.253%/°C sensitivity, TAC thermistors –1.723%/°C, and ASFs retained stability for nine months, demonstrating the feasibility of substrates for transient electronics across diverse application domains. Graphical abstract
Authors
- Giovanni A. Salvatore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8983-3257)
- Niko Münzenrieder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4653-5927)
- Giuseppe Cantarella (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6398-601X)
- Soufiane Krik (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3986-5066)
- Luisa Petti
- Franco Cacialli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6821-6578)
- Manuela Ciocca (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8014-9814)
- Jacopo Nicoletti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6398-7850)
- Sundus Riaz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4496-9240)
- Paolo Lugli
- Hafiza Faiqa Maqsood
- Ahmed Rasheed
Institutions
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT)
- Ca' Foscari University of Venice (IT)
- Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (IT)
- Istituto Nanoscienze (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- MRS Communications
- Published
- 2026-02-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1557/s43579-026-00937-8
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- European Commission
- Libera Università di Bolzano
- European Regional Development Fund