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Vol. 16 (2024)

Compliant Iontronic Triboelectric Gels with Phase-Locked Structure Enabled by Competitive Hydrogen Bonding

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01387-4
Guoli Du
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Yuzheng Shao
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Bin Luo
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Tao Liu
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Jiamin Zhao
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Ying Qin
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Jinlong Wang
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Song Zhang
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Mingchao Chi
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Cong Gao
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Yanhua Liu
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Chenchen Cai
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Shuangfei Wang
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China
Shuangxi Nie
School of Light Industry and Food Engineering, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Shuangxi Nie

nieshuangxi@gxu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 16 (2024), Article Number: 170

Abstract

Rapid advancements in flexible electronics technology propel soft tactile sensing devices toward high-level biointegration, even attaining tactile perception capabilities surpassing human skin. However, the inherent mechanical mismatch resulting from deficient biomimetic mechanical properties of sensing materials poses a challenge to the application of wearable tactile sensing devices in human–machine interaction. Inspired by the innate biphasic structure of human subcutaneous tissue, this study discloses a skin-compliant wearable iontronic triboelectric gel via phase separation induced by competitive hydrogen bonding. Solvent-nonsolvent interactions are used to construct competitive hydrogen bonding systems to trigger phase separation, and the resulting soft-hard alternating phase-locked structure confers the iontronic triboelectric gel with Young's modulus (6.8–281.9 kPa) and high tensile properties (880%) compatible with human skin. The abundance of reactive hydroxyl groups gives the gel excellent tribopositive and self-adhesive properties (peel strength > 70 N m−1). The self-powered tactile sensing skin based on this gel maintains favorable interface and mechanical stability with the working object, which greatly ensures the high fidelity and reliability of soft tactile sensing signals. This strategy, enabling skin-compliant design and broad dynamic tunability of the mechanical properties of sensing materials, presents a universal platform for broad applications from soft robots to wearable electronics.


Highlights:
1 A bionic phase-locked structure-inspired iontronic triboelectric gel is proposed with good mechanical compliance for wearable haptic sensing applications.
2 Competitive hydrogen bonding systems are constructed through polymer-solvent-nonsolvent interactions, and regeneration of polymers with weak hydrogen bond donors triggers controlled phase separation.
3 Self-powered haptic skin constructed with iontronic triboelectric gel has a modulus (150.6 kPa) and stretchability (> 400%) similar to that of the human body, enabling fidelity transmission of haptic signals and precise recognition of sensing objects.

Keywords

Triboelectric nanogenerator Cellulose Triboelectric gel Self-powered sensor Energy harvesting
Du, Guoli, Yuzheng Shao, Bin Luo, Tao Liu, Jiamin Zhao, Ying Qin, Jinlong Wang, Song Zhang, Mingchao Chi, Cong Gao, Yanhua Liu, Chenchen Cai, Shuangfei Wang, and Shuangxi Nie. 2024. “Compliant Iontronic Triboelectric Gels With Phase-Locked Structure Enabled by Competitive Hydrogen Bonding”. Nano-Micro Letters 16 (April):170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-024-01387-4.
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