What happens when electronics stop being rigid boxes and start becoming part of the world around us? In this episode of Material Minds, host Shrikrishnan Sankaran speaks with Professor Tobias Kraus about the future of flexible electronics, stretchable conductors, smart textiles, and recyclable electronic materials. From sensor-enabled T-shirts and intelligent furniture to the challenge of making semiconductors deform without breaking, this conversation explores how materials science could bring electronics into everyday life in ways that are softer, smarter, and more sustainable.

You’ll learn why today’s electronics struggle in fabrics and wearables, how conductive particles and composites make stretchable devices possible, and why end-of-life recycling must be built into the future of electronic design from the start.

Chapters
00:00 – Intro: A Cloth That Conducts Electricity
00:43 – Electronics Will Be Everywhere
02:11 – Why Electronics Aren’t Already in Everything
03:36 – Why Hard Electronics Fail on Soft Materials
05:05 – How Stretchable Conductors Actually Work
07:27 – Foldable vs. Stretchable Electronics
08:13 – Smart Clothing, Tires, and Durability Challenges
11:00 – Testing Electronics Over 50,000+ Stretch Cycles
12:20 – Can Semiconductors and LEDs Be Stretchable Too?
13:32 – E-Waste, Recycling, and the Future of Sustainable Electronics

To get to know what our host, Shrikrishnan Sankaran, does, check out his group's webpage – https://www.leibniz-inm.de/en/research/research-groups/bioprogrammable-materials/

You can also find him on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/shrikrishnans.bsky.social), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/shrikrishnans/), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/shirish.sankaran/)

To get to know what our guest, Shrikrishnan Sankaran, does, check out his group's webpage – https://www.leibniz-inm.de/en/research/scientific-units/structure-formation/

To get to know more about the Leibniz Institute for New Materials, visit us at https://www.leibniz-inm.de/en/
 or find us on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/leibnizinm.bsky.social/), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/inm-leibniz-institute-for-new-materials/), and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/leibniz_inm/)

Recording and editing by INM's communication designer, Lars Knaack – https://www.leibniz-inm.de/en/staff/b-a-knaack-lars/