Potentially providing new technology for cosmetics packaging companies, a physicist from Umeå University in Sweden has successfully managed to use light-emitting electrocheimcal cells (LEC) on metal and paper surfaces.
Amir Asadpoordarvish made the discovery by spraying three layers of ink on a substrate and using an ordinary battery to produce a current. In his tests, Asadpoordarvish used the technology to create a light-emitting fork and paper.
Speaking about the potential applications for cosmetics packaging, Asadpoordarvish told Cosmetics Business: “The LEC technology has several potential application areas, especially where light emission from an area is desired. The panel has to be incorporated into something thin, such as a lid on a cosmetic jar or a label on a bottle or pack. On glass bottles for specialty products there is also potential to integrate the LEC into the glass.”
As Asadpoordarvish mentioned, the technology has potential applications for paper as well. He said: “In a recent study we also showed that it is possible to spray the LEC structure directly onto conventional, cheap copy paper. Such a paper LEC exhibits an even light-emitting capacity even during repeated bending and flexing.”
The research group involved in the discovery also found a way of protecting the light-emitting cells from the surrounding air by encapsulating it with a mixture of glass and epoxy plastics. As a result, the LEC was seen to last for 5,600 hours, compared with the usual 1,000 hours of an ordinary light bulb.
