Vitrimers, with their unique dynamic covalent bonds, possess attractive self‐healability and mechanical robustness, providing an intriguing opportunity to construct functional soft materials. However, their potential for function recovery, especially optical function, is underexplored. Harnessing the synergistic effect of photonic crystals and vitrimers, a novel photonic vitrimer with light regulating and self‐healing capabilities is presented. The resulting photonic vitrimer exhibits a large tensile strain (>1000%), high toughness (21.2 kJ m−3), bright structural color, and mechanochromism. Notably, the structural color remains constant even after 10 000 stretching/releasing cycles, showing superior mechanical stability, creep‐resistance, and excellent durability. More importantly, the exchange of dynamic covalent bonds imparts the photonic vitrimer with a self‐healing ability (>95% efficiency), enabling the recovery of its optical function. Benefiting from the above merits, the photonic vitrimer has been successfully used as a sensor for human motion detection, which demonstrates visualized interactive sensibility even after self‐repairing. This material design provides a general strategy for optical functionalization of vitrimers. The photonic vitrimer elastomers present great potential as resilient functional soft materials for diverse flexible devices and a novel optical platform for soft robotics, smart wearable devices, and human‐machine interaction.
Biological
skin systems can perceive various external stimuli through
ion transduction. Especially, the skin of some advanced organisms
such as cephalopods can further promptly change body color by manipulating
photonic nanostructures. However, the current skin-inspired soft iontronics
lack the rapid full-color switching ability to respond to multiple
stimuli including tension, pressure, and temperature. Here, an intelligent
chromotropic iontronics with these fascinating functions is developed
by constructing a biomimetic ultrastructure with anisotropic electrostatic
repulsion. This skin-like chromotropic iontronics can synchronously
realize electrical response and optical visualization to mechanical
strain and tactile sensation by adjusting the ultrastructure in cooperation
with ionic mechanotransduction. Notably, it can perform instantaneous
geometric changes to thermal stimuli via an anisotropic
electrostatic repulsion interior. Such a capability allows bionic
skin to transduce temperature or infrared light into ionic signals
and color changes in real time. The design of anisotropic photonic
nanostructures expands the intelligent application for soft iontronics
at higher levels, providing a concise, multifunctional, interactive
sensing platform that dynamically displays stimuli information on
its body.
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