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Nano Research 2022, 15(5): 4421-4430 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-4032-5
Research Article | Issue | Published: 28 December 2021

Ultradurable, freeze-resistant, and healable MXene-based ionic gels for multi-functional electronic skin

Show Author's Information Yao Lu1,  Xinyu Qu1,  Siying Wang1,  Ye Zhao1,  Yanfang Ren2,  Wenli Zhao1,  Qian Wang1( ),  Chencheng Sun3( ),  Wenjun Wang2,  Xiaochen Dong1( )
Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
School of Physical Science and Information Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, China
School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500, China
Keywords:
MXene, photothermal effect, flexible sensor, E-skins, environment resistance
Topics:
Gels
Cite this article:
Lu Y, Qu X, Wang S, et al. Ultradurable, freeze-resistant, and healable MXene-based ionic gels for multi-functional electronic skin. Nano Research, 2022, 15(5): 4421-4430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-021-4032-5
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

Hydrogel is a potential matrix material of electronic-skins (E-skins) because of its excellent ductility, tunability, and biocompatibility. However, hydrogel-based E-Skins will inevitably lose their sensing performance in practical applications for water loss, physical damage, and ambient interferences. It remains a challenge to manufacture highly durable gel-based E-skins. Herein, an E-Skin is fabricated by introducing ionic liquids (ILs) into MXene-composited binary polymer network. The obtained ionic gel shows excellent mechanical properties, strong adhesion, and superior tolerance to harsh environments. The E-skin exhibits high sensitivity to both strain and pressure in a wide range of deformations, which enables a monitoring function for various human motions and physiological activities. Importantly, the E-skin shows consistent electrical response after being stored in the open air for 30 days and can be quickly healed by irradiation with 808 nm near-infrared light, originating from the photo-thermal effect induced self-healing acceleration. It is noteworthy that the E-skin also reveals a highly sensitive perception of temperature and near-infrared light, displaying the promising potential applications in the multifunctional flexible sensor.


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Abstract
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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Ultradurable, freeze-resistant, and healable MXene-based ionic gels for multi-functional electronic skin

Show Author's information Yao Lu1, Xinyu Qu1, Siying Wang1, Ye Zhao1, Yanfang Ren2, Wenli Zhao1, Qian Wang1( ), Chencheng Sun3( ), Wenjun Wang2, Xiaochen Dong1( )
Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics (KLOFE) & Institute of Advanced Materials (IAM), School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Nanjing Tech University (NanjingTech), 30 South Puzhu Road, Nanjing 211816, China
School of Physical Science and Information Technology, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng 252059, China
School of Electronic and Information Engineering, Changshu Institute of Technology, Changshu 215500, China

Abstract

Hydrogel is a potential matrix material of electronic-skins (E-skins) because of its excellent ductility, tunability, and biocompatibility. However, hydrogel-based E-Skins will inevitably lose their sensing performance in practical applications for water loss, physical damage, and ambient interferences. It remains a challenge to manufacture highly durable gel-based E-skins. Herein, an E-Skin is fabricated by introducing ionic liquids (ILs) into MXene-composited binary polymer network. The obtained ionic gel shows excellent mechanical properties, strong adhesion, and superior tolerance to harsh environments. The E-skin exhibits high sensitivity to both strain and pressure in a wide range of deformations, which enables a monitoring function for various human motions and physiological activities. Importantly, the E-skin shows consistent electrical response after being stored in the open air for 30 days and can be quickly healed by irradiation with 808 nm near-infrared light, originating from the photo-thermal effect induced self-healing acceleration. It is noteworthy that the E-skin also reveals a highly sensitive perception of temperature and near-infrared light, displaying the promising potential applications in the multifunctional flexible sensor.

Keywords: MXene, photothermal effect, flexible sensor, E-skins, environment resistance

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 07 October 2021
Revised: 10 November 2021
Accepted: 21 November 2021
Published: 28 December 2021
Issue date: May 2022

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2021

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The work was supported by Jiangsu Province Policy Guidance Plan (No. BZ2019014), NSF of Jiangsu Province (No. BK20190688), NSF of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (No. 21KJB430039), and 'Taishan scholars' construction special fund of Shandong Province.

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