Self‐Healing Graphene‐Based Composites with Sensing Capabilities

Abstract

Natural systems are a rich source of scientific inspiration. Skin for example functions as an efficient protective barrier for the human body that is able to sense the external environment and repair autonomously. The translation of these physiological properties to synthetic materials could open new opportunities in many strategic fields from health care to robotics. In recent years, significant advances have been accomplished towards the development of synthetic materials with unique sensing and/or self-healing capabilities [1,2] . The ability to self-heal often relies on the use of an external stimulus to trigger repair [3] or on the use of vascular [1,4] or capsule-based [5] systems for the storage and release of healants upon damage. However, these systems often show incomplete healing, cannot heal multiple times, or require the prompt location of the damage site. An alternative is the use of supramolecular polymers (macromolecular aggregates cross-linked by dynamic covalent or hydrogen bonds) that provide an efficient path towards autonomous multiple self-healing [6] . Still, the integration of healing ability with functional capabilities in robust and lightweight materials remains a challenge. In this work, we marry both approaches to develop robust, electrically conductive, self-healing composites. These composites, prepared through the encapsulation of a self-healing supramolecular polymer in a graphene ultralight network, are able to sense pressure and flexion and completely and

Synthesis of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced Polyborosiloxane Nanocomposites with Mechanically Adaptive and Self-Healing Capabilities for Flexible Conductors

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] Materials decorated with self-healing feature could boost the lifetime of products and build new potentials in various areas. 7 Selfhealing conductors are currently attracting a significant number of studies, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] particularly for advanced electronic applications, including chemical sensors, 17 thermal sensors, 18 supercapacitors, [19][20][21] lithium-ion batteries, 2 and electronic skin. 7,22 Similarly, flexible conductors play an important role in the emerging fields, such as prosthetics, soft robotics, stretchable displays and human machine interfaces.…”

“…7 Selfhealing conductors are currently attracting a significant number of studies, [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] particularly for advanced electronic applications, including chemical sensors, 17 thermal sensors, 18 supercapacitors, [19][20][21] lithium-ion batteries, 2 and electronic skin. 7,22 Similarly, flexible conductors play an important role in the emerging fields, such as prosthetics, soft robotics, stretchable displays and human machine interfaces. [23][24][25] The flexibility of existing flexible electrodes is mainly determined by the electrically conductive materials and their assembly on elastomeric substrates.…”

“…11,27 The incorporation of conducting fillers into a self-healing matrix (e.g. intrinsic self-healing gels 26,[28][29][30][31] and polymers 7,22,32 ) to form selfhealing composites is an attractive strategy to achieve conductors which intrinsically self-heal at ambient temperature. These composites have an advantage that their self-healing function can serve multiple times, promising repeatable recovery of mechanical and electrical properties.…”

Freeze Casting for Assembling Bioinspired Structural Materials

“…[28,47] Recently, nanosheets (including graphene oxide) were also successfully assembled into a layered laminar structure. [48][49][50] As the ice grows, it expels the nanoparticles (B), macromolecules (C), and nanosheets (D) that accumulate in the space between ice crystals. A lamellar structure, where the pores are a direct replica of the ice crystals, is obtained.…”

Self-Healing and Damage Resilience for Soft Robotics: A Review

“…Since then, a recent progress report has highlighted work done in polymer chemistry and physics to develop self-healing polymers and flexible electronic components, specifically with a focus on wearables applications (Huynh et al, 2017). In it, self-healing polymers find applications in a number of sensory-skin devices such as flexion sensors (D'Elia et al, 2015), strain sensors (Wu and Chen, 2016), capacitors, supercapacitors, batteries, and solar cells Sun et al, 2014Sun et al, , 2016Banerjee et al, 2015;Huang et al, 2015;Zhao et al, 2016). Even though research into these devices continues, we have yet to see many integrated into soft robotic systems.…”