Polymerizable Deep Eutectic Solvent‐Based Skin‐Like Elastomers with Dynamic Schemochrome and Self‐Healing Ability

Abstract

Animal skin is a huge source of inspiration when it comes to multifunctional sensing materials. Bioinspired sensors integrated with the intriguing performance of skin‐like steady wide‐range strain detection, real‐time dynamic visual cues, and self‐healing ability hold great promise for next‐generation electronic skin materials. Here, inspired by the skins of a chameleon, cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) liquid crystal skeleton is embedded into polymerizable deep eutectic solvent (PDES) via in situ polymerization to develop a skin‐like elastomer. Benefiting from the elastic ionic conductive PDES matrix and dynamic interfacial hydrogen bonding, this strategy has broken through the limitations that CNCs‐based cholesteric structure is fragile and its helical pitch is non‐adjustable, endowing the resulting elastomer with strain‐induced wide‐range (0–500%) dynamic structural colors and excellent self‐healing ability (78.9–90.7%). Furthermore, the resulting materials exhibit high stretch‐ability (1163.7%), strain‐sensing and self‐adhesive abilities, which make them well‐suitable for developing widely applicable and highly reliable flexible sensors. The proposed approach of constructing biomimetic skin‐like materials with wide‐range dynamic schemochrome is expected to extend new possibilities in diverse applications including anti‐counterfeit labels, soft foldable displays, and wearable optical devices.

Direct ink writing of a graphene/CNT/silicone composite strain sensor with a near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance

“…25,26 Meanwhile, compared with well-developed film/ foam-like devices, the fiber-shaped strain sensors developed by the DIW technique have the advantages of excellent flexibility, weavability, portability and suitable conformability onto uneven surfaces. [27][28][29] Consequently, in this study, we will develop a robust and highly stretchable GNP/CNT/silicone elastomer (GCE) fiber with small or near-zero TCR by a facile DIW technique. A non-temperature interference property of the resultant GCE strain sensor will be realized through the combination of GNPs and CNTs with opposite TCRs.…”

“…25,26 Meanwhile, compared with well-developed film/foam-like devices, the fiber-shaped strain sensors developed by the DIW technique have the advantages of excellent flexibility, weavability, portability and suitable conformability onto uneven surfaces. 27–29…”

Self-Healing Bimodal Sensors Based on Bioderived Polymerizable Deep Eutectic Solvent Ionic Elastomers

“…As shown in Figure e, the healed elastomer can not only withstand stretching, bending, and twisting but also lift an 800 g water tank (1230 times its own weight 0.65 g). Compared with the recently reported self-healing PDES elastomers (Figure f and Table S1), ,− the result indicates that the biobased PDA@CNC/PDES elastomers in this work exhibit remarkably superior comprehensive properties including mechanical strength, self-healing efficiency, and self-healing time, confirming that the synergistic regulation of physical and hydrogen bonding networks can effectively resolve the contradiction between the mechanical strength and self-healing efficiency.…”

Materials development in stretchable iontronics

“…Researchers have also investigated polymerizable deepeutectic-solvent (DES) systems for liquid-free SICs. [118][119][120][121][122][123][124][125] DESs are eutectic phases of certain binary mixtures, with negligible vapour pressure and thermal stability. 120 When the DESs consist of polymerizable monomers and ionic materials (not ILs), they are classified as polymerizable DESs, and they act as liquid-free SICs.…”