Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 1H9, Canada.
School of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, 211166, P. R. China.
Macromol Rapid Commun. 2024 Oct;45(19):e2400362. doi: 10.1002/marc.202400362. Epub 2024 Jul 30.
The flexible electronic sensor is a critical component of wearable devices, generally requiring high stretchability, excellent transmittance, conductivity, self-healing capability, and strong adhesion. However, designing ion-conducting elastomers meeting all these requirements simultaneously remains a challenge. In this study, a novel approach is presented to fabricate highly stretchable, transparent, and self-healing ion-conducting elastomers, which are synthesized via photo-polymerization of two polymerizable deep eutectic solvents (PDESs) monomers, i.e., methacrylic acid (MAA)/choline chloride (ChCl) and itaconic acid (IA)/ChCl. The as-prepared ion-conducting elastomers possess outstanding properties, including high transparency, conductivity, and the capability to adhere to various substrates. The elastomers also demonstrate ultra-stretchability (up to 3900%) owing to a combination of covalent cross-linking and noncovalent cross-linking. In addition, the elastomers can recover up to 3250% strain and over 94.5% of their original conductivity after self-healing at room temperature for 5 min, indicating remarkable mechanical and conductive self-healing abilities. When utilized as strain sensors to monitor real-time motion of human fingers, wrist, elbow, and knee joints, the elastomers exhibit stable and strong repetitive electrical signals, demonstrating excellent sensing performance for large-scale movements of the human body. It is anticipated that these ion-conducting elastomers will find promising applications in flexible and wearable electronics.
柔性电子传感器是可穿戴设备的关键组成部分，通常需要具有高拉伸性、优异的透光率、导电性、自修复能力和强附着力。然而，设计同时满足所有这些要求的离子传导弹性体仍然是一个挑战。在这项研究中，提出了一种制造高拉伸、透明和自修复离子传导弹性体的新方法，该方法通过两种可聚合深共晶溶剂 (PDES) 单体，即甲基丙烯酸 (MAA)/氯化胆碱 (ChCl) 和衣康酸 (IA)/ChCl 的光聚合来合成。所制备的离子传导弹性体具有出色的性能，包括高透明度、导电性和对各种基底的附着力。弹性体还由于共价交联和非共价交联的结合而具有超拉伸性（高达 3900%）。此外，弹性体在室温下自修复 5 分钟后可以恢复高达 3250%的应变和超过 94.5%的原始电导率，表明具有出色的机械和导电自修复能力。当用作应变传感器来监测人体手指、手腕、肘部和膝关节的实时运动时，弹性体表现出稳定且强的重复电信号，表明其对人体大运动具有出色的传感性能。预计这些离子传导弹性体将在柔性和可穿戴电子产品中具有广阔的应用前景。
