Imprinting “sticky” features on the surfaces of common non-sticky flexible materials, such as paper, textile, and polymeric films produces a myriad of adhesive tapes that we use in our daily lives. Recently, the rise of flexible electronics has harnessed the distinct adhesive behavior of adhesive tapes to achieve special scientific and engineering purposes. In this review, recent advances including the structures, properties, mechanisms, and functionalities of adhesive tapes and relevant flexible smart electronics are summarized. We provide a key focus on how the distinct adhesive behavior of adhesive tapes contributes to the redesign and engineering of flexible electronics via physical and/or chemical modifications. The applications of these flexible smart electronics enabled by adhesive tapes are widespread, including high-performance sensors, energy storage/conversion devices, medical and healthcare patches, etc. Finally, we discuss unmet needs and current challenges in the development of adhesive tape-enabled materials and techniques for flexible electronics. With ongoing material and technical innovations, adhesive tape-related electronic products are expected to revolutionize our lifestyle and lead us into the era of artificial intelligence.
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Adhesive tapes: From daily necessities to flexible smart electronics
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March 2023
Review Article|
January 23 2023
Adhesive tapes: From daily necessities to flexible smart electronics

Special Collection:
Flexible and Smart Electronics
Xuecheng He
;
Xuecheng He
(Investigation, Writing – original draft)
1
School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University
, Shenzhen 518060, China
2
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing
, Beijing 100083, China
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Wenyu Wang
;
Wenyu Wang
(Writing – review & editing)
3
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom
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Shijie Yang
;
Shijie Yang
(Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing – review & editing)
2
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing
, Beijing 100083, China
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Feilong Zhang
;
Feilong Zhang
(Writing – review & editing)
4
Innovative Center for Flexible Devices (iFLEX), Max Planck-NTU Joint Lab for Artificial Senses, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nanyang Technological University
, Singapore 639798, Singapore
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Zhen Gu;
Zhen Gu
(Writing – review & editing)
2
Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Materials Genome Engineering, Research Center for Bioengineering and Sensing Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing
, Beijing 100083, China
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Bing Dai;
Bing Dai
(Writing – review & editing)
1
School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University
, Shenzhen 518060, China
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Tailin Xu
;
Tailin Xu
a)
(Conceptualization, Funding acquisition, Supervision)
1
School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University
, Shenzhen 518060, China
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Yan Yan Shery Huang
;
Yan Yan Shery Huang
(Writing – review & editing)
3
Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom
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Xueji Zhang
Xueji Zhang
a)
(Funding acquisition, Supervision, Writing – review & editing)
1
School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University
, Shenzhen 518060, China
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Note: This paper is part of the special collection on Flexible and Smart Electronics.
Appl. Phys. Rev. 10, 011305 (2023)
Article history
Received:
July 04 2022
Accepted:
December 19 2022
Connected Content
A companion article has been published:
Not your mother’s tape: how flexible electronics utilize adhesive technology
Citation
Xuecheng He, Wenyu Wang, Shijie Yang, Feilong Zhang, Zhen Gu, Bing Dai, Tailin Xu, Yan Yan Shery Huang, Xueji Zhang; Adhesive tapes: From daily necessities to flexible smart electronics. Appl. Phys. Rev. 1 March 2023; 10 (1): 011305. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0107318
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