Materie mit Licht erschaffen: Durchbruchsmethode erzeugt Elektroden mit sichtbarem Licht

From the article 

Linköping University scientists have used visible light to create electrodes from conductive plastics without the need for toxic chemicals or conductive metals.

The research team behind the novel electrode manufacturing method said their approach could help create electrodes on diverse surfaces, enabling entirely new types of electronics, including medical applications such as non-toxic biocompatible sensors.

“I think this is something of a breakthrough,” said Xenofon Strakosas, assistant professor at Linköping University’s Laboratory of Organic Electronics (LOE). “It’s another way of creating electronics that is simpler and doesn’t require any expensive equipment.”

According to a statement detailing the research, polymers used to make conductive plastics consist of large molecules linked together into long chains of monomers. The polymer manufacturing process, called polymerization, often involves the use of strong chemicals. Some of those chemicals are considered toxic, limiting the process’s scaling. This toxicity also limits the use of many polymers in medical applications