Reversible photo-patterning of soft conductive materials via spatially-defined supramolecular assembly

Abstract

A strategy for reversible patterning of soft conductive materials is described, based upon a combination of peptide-based block copolymer hydrogelators and photo-thermally-active carbon nanotubes. This composite displays photo-responsive gelation at application-relevant timescales (<10 s), allowing for rapid and spatially-defined construction of conductive patterns (>100 S m⁻¹), which, additionally, hold the capability to revert to sol upon sonication for reprocessing.