Stretchable and self-healing copper-iodide scintillator for conformal X-ray imaging and wearable radiation alerting

Flexible X-ray scintillators are critical for next-generation conformal imaging and wearable radiation monitoring, yet their development is hindered by the persistent trade-offs among particle dispersion, scintillation efficiency, and mechanical robustness in conventional composite designs. Here, we overcome these limitations via a ligand-matrix interface engineering strategy, integrating highly soluble copper-iodide clusters with a self-healing fluorinated block copolymer to produce highly stretchable and autonomously self-healing scintillator films. Interfacial coordination and ion-dipole interactions guide the in situ self-assembly of uniformly dispersed, aggregation-induced emission-active clusters within the polymer matrix, while dynamic dipole-dipole interactions between fluorinated segments confer high stretchability (up to 2000% strain) and room-temperature self-healing capability. The resulting films achieve a high spatial resolution of 16.4 lp mm^-1, enabling distortion-free conformal imaging of curved objects and maintaining high-fidelity imaging under severe mechanical deformation or in aqueous environments. Furthermore, dip-coated textiles functionalized with the composite serve as wearable radiation-alert systems that synergize real-time visual detection with passive X-ray shielding. This work provides a versatile materials platform that reconciles long-standing performance conflicts, paving the way for advanced conformal diagnostics and scalable personal radiation protection technologies.