A review on emerging biodegradable polymers for environmentally benign transient electronic skins

Biodegradable or transient electronics is an emerging technology whose key characteristic is an ability to dissolve, resorb, physically disappear or disintegrate in physiological environments after fulfilling their functions over prescribed time frames. Biodegradable electronics as temporary implants can be safely absorbed by the body, and as green electronics can effectively alleviate landfill and environmental issues caused by electronic wastes, which are expected to ultimately eliminate associated costs and risks resulting from recycling operations. In this review, the state of the art of the biodegradable polymers, their fabrication techniques, and potential applications in environment friendly electronic skins (e-skins) are comprehensively summarized and systematically discussed. In addition, the future outlook for the development of biodegradable e-skins is also discussed at the end. It is expected that this review will potentially provide vital tools and beneficial strategies for the design of biodegradable e-skins with the functions of diagnosis, therapy and green sensing that are beneficial for human healthcare and environmental protection.