Mask-Free Preparation of Patterned Carbonized Carboxymethyl Cellulose on Fabrics for Flexible Electronics

Fabric-based flexible electronics have promising applications in biomedicine, soft robots, and human–machine interfaces. However, fabrication of flexible electronics on fabrics in a high throughput and scalable manner without significantly sacrificing the benefits of fabrics is still a challenge. To address this, a laser direct writing (LDW)-based technique is developed for the mask-free fabrication of flexible electronics on fabrics. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is chosen as the precursor for the carbon electrode formed by LDW on the fabrics because CMC is water soluble, which is convenient to be processed and able to be mixed with inorganic precursors to form composites. Flexible pressure sensor based on LDW-carbonized CMC (CCMC) has a sensitivity of −0.25 kPa^–1 within 5 kPa, response time of 0.5 s, and detectable limit of 140 Pa. The specific capacitance of the LDW prepared Mo_xO_y/CCMC electrode is 12.8 mF/cm². The LDW Mo_xO_y/CCMC composite-based flexible all-solid-state supercapacitor has a capacitance of 1.095 mF/cm², with a high flexibility and mechanical durability.