A flexible solar-blind 2D boron nitride nanopaper-based photodetector with high thermal resistance

Flexible electronics are expected to play a key role in connecting human lives with versatile smart electronic devices due to their adaptability to different shapes, surfaces, and even the human body. However, heat management issues found in most flexible devices due to the low thermal conductivity of conventional plastic or paper substrates become significant for large-scale integration or high-temperature applications. In this study, we employed high thermal conductivity nanopaper composed of two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal boron nitride nanosheets and one-dimensional nanofibrillated cellulose to form a flexible deep-ultraviolet photodetector demonstrating superior photodetectivity of up to 8.05 × 1010 cm Hz1/2/W, a short response time of 0.267 s, and excellent flexible durability featuring repeatable ON/OFF photoswitching over 200 bending cycles. Because the boron nitride paper has a high thermal conductivity of 146 W/mK, which is three orders of magnitude larger than plastic or paper substrates, the photodetectors can work at high temperatures of up to 200 °C. The boron nitride paper-based strategy described herein suggests a path for improving heat dissipation in flexible electronics and achieving high-performance deep-ultraviolet photodetectors, which can be applied in wearable applications.