Functionalized Carbon Nanostructures for Flexible Electronics

Flexible electronic system (FES) is a developing field of science and engineering. This technology is very promising and offers a broad variety of flexible applications in many sectors due to the flexibility that is specific, novel, and highly demanded in existing electronic industry. Recently, there has been a lot of research and attention focused on carbon nanostructures and their functionalized derivatives as potential building blocks to produce high-quality FES products. For this purpose the ideal choice among the many forms of carbon nanostructures, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene, and carbon nanofibers (CNFs), may differ. CNTs, for example, have high electrical conductivity and mechanical flexibility, making them excellent for interconnects and transistors in flexible electronic systems. Because of its great carrier mobility and transparency, graphene is frequently used in transparent conductive electrodes and sensors. CNFs have high mechanical strength and can be used as reinforcement in flexible substrates. The ideal amount of required functionalized carbon nanostructures (FCN) is determined by attaining the required balance of conductivity, flexibility, and durability for the individual application, while taking into account aspects such as production difficulty and cost. This chapter gives an in-depth look at the use of FCN in flexible electronics.