Overall

Conflict of Interest: In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Publication history: Received May 29, 2024
Revised September 19, 2024
Accepted October 9, 2024
Available online July 26, 2025

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Most Cited

Vanishing Soft Electronics: Degradation Mechanisms of Transient Materials

Dong Hae Ho^† Jeong Ho Cho^1†

Department of Energy Science and Engineering , Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) ¹Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering , Yonsei University

hodh123@dgist.ac.kr, jhcho94@yonsei.ac.kr

Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, July 2025, 42(9), 000042
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-024-00320-0

Abstract

The rapid increase in electronic waste, coupled with the emerging demand for soft electronics, necessitates sustainable solutions.

Transient soft electronics, designed to degrade after use, off er a promising pathway to address this issue. This review

explores transient soft electronics from a degradation mechanism of transient dielectrics materials perspective, focusing on

three primary degradation mechanisms: water-driven, organic solvent-driven, and bio-driven. The degradation processes

for each mechanism will be discussed, and representative research in each area will be showcased. Additionally, the review

will highlight the challenges associated with transient soft electronics in each category.

Keywords

Soft electronics · Transient electronics · Soft materials · Green electronics