New substrate material for flexible electronics could help combat e-waste

https://techxplore.com/news/2024-08-substrate-material-flexible-electronics-combat.html

"flexible substrate enables scalable complex multilayered circuits' manufacture... form of polyimide polymer cures in seconds with UV, at room temperature... multilayered circuits' substrate... recyclability: ester subunits introduced into polymer's backbone rapidly dissolve away using alcohol/ catalyst solution, where circuits' precious metals, rare earth minerals, entire microchips, recovered... break polymer back into original small molecules"

Related:

Sustainable metal-recycling method reduces cost and greenhouse gas emissions
https://phys.org/news/2024-09-sustainable-metal-recycling-method-greenhouse.html

Better ways to recover metals needed for technology from electronic waste could benefit the environment and human health
https://theconversation.com/better-ways-to-recover-metals-needed-for-technology-from-electronic-waste-could-benefit-the-environment-and-human-health-237182