Strong,\nAntifatigue, and Ionically Conductive Organogels\nfor High-Performance Strain Sensors

Abstract

Conductive organohydrogels with flexibility and biocompatibility\nhave attracted extensive attention in bioelectronic devices. However,\npoor mechanical properties and crack propagation resistance have severely\nlimited their applications. Herein, strong, tough, and ionically conductive\norganogels (ICOs) with outstanding fatigue resistance are prepared\nbased on simultaneous construction of dense cross-linked polymer network\nwith numerous crystalline domains and ionically conductive network\nduring the solvent exchange. ICOs show excellent mechanical properties\nwith tensile strength and elongation at break as high as 16.7 ±\n0.9 MPa and 1112.4 ± 120.3%, respectively. Moreover, the fracture\nenergy and fatigue threshold can reach 34.0 ± 4.7 KJ/m² and 561.3 ± 59.6 J/m², respectively, exhibiting\noutstanding crack resistant properties. ICOs with antifreezing performance\nare used for strain sensing with a linear working strain up to 80%\nand superior cycling stability, and the ICO strain sensor can monitor\nvarious body motions. The mechanically strong and antifatigue organogels\nshow promising applications in flexible and smart electronics even\nin extreme environments.