Functional Polymer Composite Materials with Tailored Electrical Conductivity for Flexible and Emerging Electronic Applications

During her PhD studies, Mahboubeh Motadayen developed biodegradable conductive polymer composites for more sustainable electronic applications. Conventional electronic devices often rely on persistent, non-degradable materials, leading to increasing amounts of electronic waste and associated environmental concerns. Her research addressed this challenge by engineering polymer–metal composite systems with tailored electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, printability, and degradation behavior for transient, flexible, and wearable electronics.

As part of her work, she formulated conductive composite pastes compatible with screen printing and fabricated conductive tracks capable of powering LEDs, as well as printed temperature and strain sensors. The research was further extended to conductive hydrogels and elastomer-based composites, demonstrating stable piezoresistive responses and high stretchability for soft electronic applications.

Her research highlights the potential of functional polymer composites to enable more environmentally responsible electronic technologies, while demonstrating how electrical performance, mechanical functionality, processability, and material degradation can be considered together in the development of next-generation flexible and emerging electronics.

The PhD study was completed at Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Thursday, 3 September 2026 at 13:00
Place: Building 5123, room 313, Lecture Theatre Stroustrup, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Finlandsgade 22, 8200 Aarhus N
Title of PhD thesis: Functional Polymer Composite Materials with Tailored Electrical Conductivity for Flexible and Emerging Electronic Applications.
Contact information: Mahboubeh Motadayen, e-mail: Mahboubeh.motadayen@ece.au.dk, tel.: +45 52528245
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Matti Mäntysalo, The Faculty of Information, Technology and Communication Sciences (ITC), Electrical Engineering, Tampere University, Finland
Associate Professor Roana de Oliveira Hansen, Mads Clausen Instituttet (MCI), SDU NanoSyd, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark
Professor Preben Kidmose (chair), Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor: Associate Professor Pernille Klarskov Hansen, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Technical Sciences/GSTS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C.