This study proposes an innovative preparation strategy for composite phase change materials (PCMs) based on flexible polymer networks, addressing the urgent market demand for AI-compatible electronic skins. By encapsulating PCMs within a PVDF polymer framework and leveraging layered manufacturing and integrated assembly techniques, flexible composite PCMs that synergize thermal management with intelligent sensing have been successfully developed. The resulting material demonstrates dual-function superiority: 1) Thermal Performance: A single-layer packaging efficiency of 96.7% is achieved at a minimal thickness of 0.25 mm, with the photothermal/electrothermal conversion efficiency reaching 82.3% while retaining 92% of the initial enthalpy after 500 cycles. 2) Mechanical Robustness: Liquid metal films exhibit tensile strength up to 150 MPa, with hot-pressed samples demonstrating exceptional brittleness resistance. 3) Smart Integration: Real-time multimodal force sensing is achieved through force–thermal coupling effects, which were validated in photothermal/electrothermal experiments with precise temperature regulation via interruption effects. This breakthrough establishes a new paradigm for next-generation electronic skins, simultaneously fulfilling energy conversion efficiency and tactile responsiveness requirements. These findings hold significant promise for applications in medical robotics, industrial inspection, and consumer electronics, paving the way for adaptive human–machine interfaces.

Recently, multifunctional materials have received widespread attention from researchers. Cellulose nanofibers (CNF) is one of biomass materials with abundant hydroxyl groups, which shows great potential in manufacturing multifunctional composite material. In this paper, a kind of polyaniline@CNF/polyvinyl alcohol-H₂SO₄ multifunctional composite material (PANI@CNF/PVA-H₂SO₄) was successfully designed by in-situ chemical polymerization of conductive polyaniline (PANI) onto CNF aerogel with high aspect ratio, and then coated with PVA-H₂SO₄ gel. The composite material has a specific capacitance of 502.2 F/g at a scan rate of 5 mV/s as supercapacitor electrode. Furthermore, when the composite was assembled into a symmetrical supercapacitor, it can still provide an energy density of 11.49 W·h/kg at a high power density of 413.55 W/kg. Besides, the as-obtained PANI@CNF/PVA-H₂SO₄ composite has an excellent electromagnetic shielding performance of 34.75 dB in X-band. In addition, due to the excellent flexibility of CNF and PVA, the PANI@CNF/PVA-H₂SO₄ composites can be further applied to stress sensors to detect pressure and human motion signals.