Xu Feng, Zhang Hongjian, Liu Haodong, Han Wenqi, Nie Zhentao, Lu Yufei, Wang Haoyang, Zhu Jixin
Frontiers Science Center for Flexible Electronics, Xi'an Institute of Flexible Electronics, Xi'an Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, People's Republic of China.
School of Flexible Electronics and Henan Institute of Flexible Electronics, Henan University, Zhengzhou 450046, People's Republic of China.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 Mar 12;121(11):e2317440121. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2317440121. Epub 2024 Mar 4.
Silicone-based elastomers (SEs) have been extensively applied in numerous cutting-edge areas, including flexible electronics, biomedicine, 5G smart devices, mechanics, optics, soft robotics, etc. However, traditional strategies for the synthesis of polymer elastomers, such as bulk polymerization, suspension polymerization, solution polymerization, and emulsion polymerization, are inevitably restricted by long-time usage, organic solvent additives, high energy consumption, and environmental pollution. Here, we propose a Joule heating chemistry method for ultrafast universal fabrication of SEs with configurable porous structures and tunable components (e.g., graphene, Ag, graphene oxide, TiO, ZnO, FeO, VO, MoS, BN, g-CN, BaCO, CuI, BaTiO, polyvinylidene fluoride, cellulose, styrene-butadiene rubber, montmorillonite, and EuDySrAlSiO) within seconds by only employing HO as the solvent. The intrinsic dynamics of the in situ polymerization and porosity creation of these SEs have been widely investigated. Notably, a flexible capacitive sensor made from as-fabricated silicone-based elastomers exhibits a wide pressure range, fast responses, long-term durability, extreme operating temperatures, and outstanding applicability in various media, and a wireless human-machine interaction system used for rescue activities in extreme conditions is established, which paves the way for more polymer-based material synthesis and wider applications.
有机硅基弹性体（SEs）已广泛应用于众多前沿领域，包括柔性电子、生物医学、5G智能设备、机械、光学、软体机器人等。然而，传统的聚合物弹性体合成策略，如本体聚合、悬浮聚合、溶液聚合和乳液聚合，不可避免地受到长期使用、有机溶剂添加剂、高能耗和环境污染的限制。在此，我们提出一种焦耳热化学方法，仅以H₂O为溶剂，在几秒钟内即可超快通用制备具有可配置多孔结构和可调组分（如石墨烯、Ag、氧化石墨烯、TiO、ZnO、Fe₃O₄、VO₂、MoS₂、BN、g-C₃N₄、BaCO₃、CuI、BaTiO₃、聚偏二氟乙烯、纤维素、丁苯橡胶、蒙脱石和EuDySrAl₁₁Si₃O₃₀）的SEs。已对这些SEs的原位聚合和孔隙形成的内在动力学进行了广泛研究。值得注意的是，由所制备的有机硅基弹性体制成的柔性电容式传感器具有宽压力范围、快速响应、长期耐久性、极端工作温度以及在各种介质中的出色适用性，并且建立了用于极端条件下救援活动的无线人机交互系统，这为更多基于聚合物的材料合成和更广泛的应用铺平了道路。
