As transient electronics continue to advance, the demand for new materials has given rise to the exploration of conducting polymer (CP)-based transient electronic materials. The big challenge lies in balancing conductivity while introducing controlled degradable properties to CP-based transient materials. Our work aims to develop new types of graft copolymers of biopolymer and conducting polymer, which combine the electroactivity and conductivity of P3HT with the biodegradability imparted by the gelatin backbone. Those CP-based transient electronics are degradable and biocompatible. We are developing their application in a transient pressure sensor and other areas.

The emergence of conducting polymer nanostructures, with their important and wide-ranging applications in sensors, displays and coatings, has not been accompanied by an emergence of appropriate electrochemical nanoscale characterisation tools. We are developing micro- and nano-pipettes, as implemented in variants of the scanning ion conductance microscope, to address numerous questions such as fabrication of freestanding conducting polymer nanostructures, map electroactivity and conductivity, performing highly localised cyclic voltammetry and ion fluxes in polymer actuators.

We have developed innovative core-shell hydrogel capsules with a dual-network shell structure designed for precise control of molecular transport in response to external stimuli such as pH and temperature. The hdyrogel capsules enable precise molecular transport control in/out of the capsules by modulating the surface charges through varying pH and modifying pore size through temperature changes. This research lays the groundwork for further investigations into the multimodal stimuli-responsive hydrogel systems to control molecular transport, important in applications such as sensors and reactors for chemical cascade reactions.

Gene sensors are rapidly becoming the most powerful way to accurately diagnose disease, discover mutations and monitor biotechnology processes in this post genomic era and the availability of label-free, fast and sensitive detection devices is of paramount importance to realise the promise of the gene array technology. The focus of this programme is on development of novel conducting polymer materials and other nano-materials, such as inorganic nanocrystal and, magnetic nanoparticles toward label-free and inexpensive gene sensing. Various functionalised conducting polymers have been synthesized, including photoluminescent polymers, which may provide simple, rapid and sensitive gene detection with intrinsic electrical and/or optical readouts.

Electrospinning is a simple and effective way to produce continuous micro/nanofibers. Our work focuses on further developing this technique with electrospinning elastomers and embedding these elastomer fibres with conducting polymers. Further modification of the fibres post electrospinning is also explored with such techniques as ATRP. Applications we have demonstrated and explored for such materials include; tunable filtration, sensing platforms, cardiac tissue engineering and more.