Wooden Transistor: A Breakthrough in Sustainable Technology

World’s First Electrical Transistor Made of Wood Developed by Linköping University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology Researchers

Modulation of electrical current in a wood-based electrochemical transistor.

A team of researchers from Linköping University and KTH Royal Institute of Technology have created the world’s first wood-based electrical transistor, according to a study published in PNAS. The development of wood-based electronics could lead to new possibilities for controlling electronic plants and advancing the field of wood-based electronics. While the wood transistor is slow and bulky, it represents an innovative breakthrough in electronic technology.

New transistor made of wood can regulate electricity flow continuously without deteriorating, according to researchers at Linköping University. Previous wood transistors could only regulate ion transport and stop functioning when ions run out. The researchers used balsa wood and a conductive polymer called PEDOT:PSS to create their transistor. Removing the lignin and filling the channels with the polymer created an electrically conductive wood material.

Researchers at Linköping University have developed a wood transistor that can regulate electric current and provide continuous function without deteriorating. The transistor can switch power on and off, with a delay of about five seconds to switch it on and a second to turn it off. This technology could potentially be used to regulate electronic plants and tolerate a higher current than organic transistors. However, the researchers emphasize that their work is basic research without any specific applications in mind and hope that it will inspire further research.

Reference: “Electrical current modulation in wood electrochemical transistor” by Van Chinh Tran, Gabriella G. Mastantuoni, Marzieh Zabihipour, Lengwan Li, Lars Berglund, Magnus Berggren, Qi Zhou and Isak Engquist, 24 April 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218380120