A Fully Self-Healing and Highly Stretchable Liquid-Free Ionic Conductive Elastomer for Soft Ionotronics

Soft ionic conductors hold great potential for soft ionotronics, such as ionic skin, human-machine interface and soft luminescent device. However, most hydrogel and ionogel-based soft ionic conductors suffer from freezing, evaporation and liquid leakage problems, which limit their use in complex environments. Herein, a class of liquid-free ionic conductive elastomers (ICEs) is reported as an alternative soft ionic conductor in soft ionotronics. These liquid-free ICEs offer a combination of desirable properties, including extraordinary stretchability (up to 1913%), toughness (up to 1.08 MJ cm(-3)), Young's modulus (up to 0.67 MPa), rapid fully self-healing capability at room temperature, and good conductivity (up to 1.01 x 10(-5) S cm(-1)). The application of these ICEs is demonstrated by creating a wearable sensor that can detect and discriminate minimal deformations and human body movements, such as finger or elbow joint flexion, walking, running, etc. In addition, self-healing soft ionotronic devices are demonstrated to confront mechanical breakdown, such as an ionic skin and an alternating-current electroluminescent device that can reuse from damage. It is believed that these liquid-free ICEs hold great promises for applications in wearable devices and soft ionotronics.