In
the past decades, various alternating current electroluminescent
(ACEL) devices, especially the flexible ones, have been developed
and used in flat panel display, large-scale decorating, logo display
lighting, optical signaling, etc. Transparent plastics
are usually used as substrates in ACEL devices; however, they are
undegradable and may cause serious environmental pollution. Herein,
we have developed a flexible transient ACEL device based on transparent
fish gelatin (FG) films. The FG films were made from fish scales,
which are sustainable, cost-efficient, and eco-friendly. These films
could dissolve in water within seconds at 60 °C and degrade completely
within 24 days in soil. The transmittance of these FG films was up
to 91.1% in the visible spectrum, comparable to that of polyethylene
terephthalate (PET) (90.4%). After forming a composite with silver
nanowires (Ag NWs), the Ag NWs-FG film showed a transmittance up to
82.3% and a sheet resistance down to 22.4 Ω sq–1. The fabricated ACEL device based on the Ag NWs-FG film exhibited
high flexibility and luminance up to 56.0 cd m–2. The device could be dissolved in water within 3 min. Our work demonstrates
that the sustainable, flexible, and transparent FG films are a promising
alternative for green and degradable substrates in the field of flexible
electronics, including foldable displays, wearable devices, and health
monitoring.
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