{
  "abstract": "Sustainable electronics offer a path to reducing the environmental burden of electronic waste, but achieving closed-loop recyclability in flexible organic devices remains challenging because most stretchable substrates and elastomers are non-recyclable, petroleum-derived thermosets. Natural rubber ( cis -1,4-polyisoprene), a renewable and mechanically compliant biopolymer, is an attractive alternative for sustainable electronics, yet its chemical inertness has limited its use in advanced functional materials. Here we report a photoredox-catalyzed strategy for the selective functionalization of cis -1,4-polyisoprene, enabling modular installation of functional groups without crosslinking or degradation. This approach yields functional polyisoprene with luminescent and flame-retardant properties and, through dynamic ionic crosslinking, produces elastomers with tensile strengths up to 20 MPa and stretch ratios of 22. We further prepare a recyclable composite using functional natural rubber and PEDOT:PSS, stabilized by ionic interactions rather than permanent vulcanized networks, that retains mechanical and electrical performance over multiple recycling cycles. Its application in robotic motion sensing and electronic skin exemplifies a fundamental design principle for sustainable flexible electronics.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore, 3 Science Drive 3, Singapore, 117543",
    "Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore, 117575",
    "School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering",
    "Shanghai Jiao Tong University"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 13,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zongnan Zhang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Linkun Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Luke Chang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Mengmeng Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Lin Cheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hua Zhong"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Emmanuela Joshlin Singarimbun"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Madina Turmagambetova"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ruofan Du"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jiong Lu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Wei Yu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Benjamin C. K. Tee"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Yunyan Qiu",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9279-4714"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1k89de3jyvgt5.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15008802/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1k89de3jyvgt5",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008802/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2507|Polymer composites and self-healing"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7213329542",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-14",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1k89de3jyvgt5.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:19Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15008802",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15008802/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2507|Polymer composites and self-healing",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Backbone Editing of Natural Rubber for Sustainable Flexible Electronics",
  "title_text": "Backbone Editing of Natural Rubber for Sustainable Flexible Electronics",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:19Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1k89de3jyvgt5",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}