Light-powered delivery of silver nanowires by photofluidic movement can offer rapid, noninvasive, repetitive, and on-demand healing of electrical conductors, investigators report.

Researchers have created stretchable, transparent conductors that work because of the structures’ ‘nano-accordion’ design. The conductors could be used in a wide variety of applications, such as flexible electronics, stretchable displays or wearable sensors.

Wearable electronic devices for health and fitness monitoring are a rapidly growing area of consumer electronics; one of their biggest limitations is the capacity of their tiny batteries to deliver enough power to transmit data. Now, researchers have found a promising new approach to delivering the short but intense bursts of power needed by such small devices.