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Functional Epoxy Elastomer Integrating Self-Healing Capability and Degradability for a Flexible Stretchable Strain
Zhipeng Yang1, Hongqiang Li1, Yunchang Zhong1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Lab of Guangdong Province for High Property and Functional Polymer Materials, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|September 26, 2022
Summary
This study introduces a novel, eco-friendly epoxy elastomer for flexible strain sensors. The material offers self-healing, degradability, and high performance for advanced wearable electronics and healthcare monitoring.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Sensor Technology
Background:
- Growing demand for flexible electronics necessitates environmentally friendly materials.
- Current flexible strain sensors often lack degradability and self-healing properties.
- Developing sustainable materials is crucial for reducing electronic waste.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize a functional epoxy elastomer with self-healing and degradability for flexible strain sensors.
- To evaluate the material's mechanical, healing, and degradation properties.
- To demonstrate the sensor's performance in detecting human motion and object recognition.
Main Methods:
- Synthesized a carboxyl-terminated epoxy prepolymer using PEG-COOH, DTSA, and BDDE.
- Crosslinked the prepolymer with epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) to create the epoxy elastomer.
- Fabricated elastomer-based strain sensors with microstructures.
Main Results:
- The epoxy elastomer demonstrated high tensile stress (5.07 MPa) and stretchability (477%).
- Achieved high self-healing efficiency (92.5%) and superior degradability in alkaline solution.
- The strain sensor exhibited high sensitivity (GF = 176.71) and stable performance after healing.
Conclusions:
- The developed epoxy elastomer offers a promising combination of self-healing, degradability, and high performance.
- This material is significant for creating environmentally friendly and high-performance sensors.
- Potential applications include healthcare monitoring, intelligent robots, and wearable electronics.
