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Highly stretchable and self-healable ionogels with multiple sensitivity towards compression, strain and moisture for skin-inspired ionic sensors

高可拉伸、 可自修复和湿度敏感的离子凝胶用于多模式感知的类皮肤传感器

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Abstract

Ionic skin (I-skin) is an emerging skin-inspired sensor that has received increasing interest for the next-generation wearable electronics. However, profound challenges for I-skin remain in achieving multiple signal responses (e.g., strain, pressure, and humidity) and self-healability to fully mimic human skin. Herein, a Fe3+ ion-coordinated poly(acrylic acid) ionogel (PAIFe) with high stretchability, extreme temperature tolerance, and self-healing capability is prepared by a dynamic ionic cross-linking strategy. The ionic coordination in the PAIFe contributes to the formation of a highly dynamic network, achieving its high-efficient and reliable self-healing performance even at a low temperature of −20°C. Using of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIm][BF4]) as the solvent achieves a wide-temperature tolerance of the PAIFe under low and high temperatures. More interestingly, a humidity sensing function is realized in the PAIFe by skillfully utilizing the hygroscopic properties of [BMIm][BF4]. The resultant PAIFe is proof-of-concept demonstrated as a deformation-tolerant ionic conductor in a skin-inspired ionic sensor, showing a variety of sensory capabilities towards compression, strain and humidity.

摘要

离子皮肤(I-skin)作为一类新兴的类皮肤传感器, 在下一代可穿戴电子领域受到了越来越多的关注. 然而, I-skin在实现多重刺激响应(如应变、 压力和湿度等)和模仿皮肤的自修复功能等方面, 仍然面临着大的挑战. 本文通过动态离子交联策略, 制备了具有高可拉伸、 耐极端温度和可自修复的Fe3+离子配位聚丙烯酸离子凝胶(PAIFe). PAIFe中高度动态的离子配位作用和氢键交联结构, 使离子凝胶即使在−20°C低温条件下仍具有高效的自修复性能. 1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑四氟硼酸盐([BMIm][BF4])作为离子凝胶的分散介质, 赋予了PAIFe良好的抗冻/耐热性能. 更有趣的是, 通过巧妙地利用[BMIm][BF4]的吸湿特性, 实现了PAIFe对环境湿度的传感功能. 作为概念性验证, PAIFe作为可拉伸离子导体可组装成多模式感知的类皮肤传感器, 在湿度、 压缩和应变的不同外界刺激下表现出良好的响应能力.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21875033 and 52122303).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China

    Yufeng Wang  (王煜烽), Ying Liu  (刘颖), Nan Hu  (胡楠), Peiru Shi  (史佩茹), Chao Zhang  (张超) & Tianxi Liu  (刘天西)

  2. Key Laboratory of Synthetic and Biological Colloids, Ministry of Education, School of Chemical and Material Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China

    Tianxi Liu  (刘天西)

Authors
  1. Yufeng Wang  (王煜烽)
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  2. Ying Liu  (刘颖)
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  3. Nan Hu  (胡楠)
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  4. Peiru Shi  (史佩茹)
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  5. Chao Zhang  (张超)
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  6. Tianxi Liu  (刘天西)
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Contributions

Author contributions Wang Y, Zhang C and Liu T designed and performed the experiments and analyzed the data. Wang Y and Zhang C conceived the work and co-wrote the manuscript. Liu Y assisted with the strain, pressure and humidity sensing measurements. Hu N and Shi P assisted with the self-healing measurements. All authors have given approval to the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Chao Zhang  (张超) or Tianxi Liu  (刘天西).

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Conflict of interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Supplementary information Supporting data are available in the online version of the paper.

Yufeng Wang is a PhD student at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University. He joined Prof. Tianxi Liu’s group in 2017 and his research interest focuses on hydrogel and ionogel materials for ionic sensor and thermal management.

Chao Zhang is a professor at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University. He received his PhD degree from Fudan University in 2013. His research interests include ionic conducting elastomers for wearable sensors, and photothermal-regulated aerogels for thermal management.

Tianxi Liu obtained his BSc degree from Henan University (1992) and PhD degree from Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (1998). He is currently a full professor at the College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University. His main research interests include polymer nanocomposites, organic/inorganic hybrid materials, nanofibers and their composites, and advanced energy materials for energy conversion and storage.

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40843_2021_1977_MOESM1_ESM.pdf

Highly stretchable and self-healable ionogels with multiple sensitivity towards compression, strain and moisture for skin-inspired ionic sensors

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Wang, Y., Liu, Y., Hu, N. et al. Highly stretchable and self-healable ionogels with multiple sensitivity towards compression, strain and moisture for skin-inspired ionic sensors. Sci. China Mater. 65, 2252–2261 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-021-1977-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-021-1977-5

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