The world’s first wooden electrical transistor was created by researchers from Linköping University and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, marking a significant advancement in the field’s efficiency and sustainability.
According to a press release issued by the institutions on Thursday
“We have developed an original principle. Yes, the wood transistor is slow and large, but it functions and has a tonne of development potential, according to Isak Engquist, senior associate professor at Linköping University’s Laboratory for Organic Electronics.
Scientists have attempted to make wooden transistors before, but those earlier attempts only produced versions that could control ion transport. Making matters worse, the transistor ceased to operate as soon as the ions ran out.
On the other hand, the new transistor can continue to work and control electricity flow without degrading. This is partially attributable to the balsa wood used to build the new device, as the technology required calls for a wood with uniform grain throughout.
The researchers made several changes to the wood: they removed the lignin, leaving only long cellulose fibers with channels where the lignin had been. These channels were then filled with a conductive plastic, or polymer, called PEDOT:PSS, resulting in an electrically conductive wood material.
