Eco-Friendly and Conformable PIFA Based on PEDOT:PSS and a Sustainable Chitosan Substrate for 5G Communications

According to many institutions, the number of connected devices will be 125 billion in 2030. Hence, the need to minimize the environmental impact of the plastics derived from circuitry is self-evident. In this context, we present the design, fabrication and characterization of an eco-friendly and conformable Planar Inverted-F Antenna made of a conductive polymer blend based on PEDOT:PSS and placed on a sustainable chitosan substrate. The characterization of the fabricated prototypes is fully in line with the numerical simulations. This work shows the potentiality of the combination of the PEDOT:PSS and chitosan substrate for the realization of a new class of eco-friendly antennas for health monitoring sensors.