Polyfunctional and Multisensory Bio-Ionoelastomers Enabled by Covalent Adaptive Networks With Hierarchically Dynamic...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Hydrogels and ionogels are limited in achieving multiple desired properties simultaneously.
• Developing versatile ionoelastomers is crucial for advancing high-performance ionotronic devices.
• Current materials struggle to meet demands for bio-derivation, toughness, stretchability, self-healing, ionic conductivity, reprocessing, and recyclability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a novel ionoelastomer with a combination of advanced properties.
• To overcome the trade-offs between mechanical versatility, ionic conductivity, self-healing, reprocessing, and recyclability.
• To create a new class of ionic conductors for soft ionotronics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a dynamic covalent and supramolecular design based on lipoic acid (LA).
• Employed melt building of covalent adaptive networks with hierarchically dynamic bonding (CAN-HDB).
• Integrated dynamic disulfide metathesis, lithium bonds, and binary hydrogen bonds.

Main Results:

• Achieved remarkable stretchability (1011.7%) and high toughness (3877 kJ m⁻³).
• Demonstrated high ionic conductivity (3.94 × 10⁻⁴ S m⁻¹), outstanding self-healing, and recyclability.
• Developed a material suitable for 3D printing and capable of multisensory applications.

Conclusions:

• The lipoic acid-based dynamic covalent ionoelastomer (DCIE) successfully balances multiple challenging properties.
• The material's selective ion transport enables multisensory capabilities for temperature, humidity, and strain detection.
• DCIEs offer a new concept for advanced ionic conductors in soft ionotronics due to their multifunctionality and straightforward synthesis.