Water-Soluble and Environmentally Friendly UV Photodetector Fabricated Through Solvent-Free Material Patterning

In this study, we introduce a water-soluble, environmentally friendly UV photodetector (PD) fabricated on a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) substrate with efficiently recyclable electrodes and photoactive material using a novel solvent-free photoresist transfer printing technology. The PD, with micro-scale zinc oxide (ZnO) and molybdenum (Mo) patterns on PVA, demonstrates high sensitivity, stable and cyclic on-off switching properties, and good degradability in DI water. The fabrication process demonstrated in this device has a broad application for creating micro-devices on non-traditional substrates.