The world produces over 92 million tons of textile waste annually, much of it made from synthetic materials that can linger for centuries. Add to that the surge in wearable electronics—smartwatches, fitness trackers, sensor-laden garments—and the problem becomes two-fold.
These e-textiles don’t just include fabric, but also metal wires, plastic substrates, adhesives, and circuits that are nearly impossible to recycle. As electronics become more intimate, wearable, and disposable, the question becomes urgent: how do we design them to disappear when they’re no longer needed?
A research team at Seoul National University has taken a significant step toward answering that question.
Led by Professor Seung-Kyun Kang and Dr. Jae-Young Bae, the team has developed a fully biodegradable, high-performance conductive fiber that can be seamlessly integrated into wearable electronics and naturally decompose after use. The study was published in npj Flexible Electronics.
Unlike conventional e-textiles that persist in landfills, this new fiber system maintains performance during use but vanishes in enzyme-rich or soil environments, leaving no harmful residues behind.
The team’s innovation lies in combining tungsten microparticles with a biodegradable polymer known as poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) to form a conductive fiber. This core is coated with a flexible, water-resistant polyanhydride (PBTPA) layer that enhances mechanical stability without compromising biodegradability.
