Self-Healing Bimodal Sensors Based on Bioderived Polymerizable Deep Eutectic Solvent Ionic Elastomers
Qinke Cui, Xin Huang, Xiangyu Dong, Huaiyu Zhao, Xuehui Liu, Xinxing Zhang
Abstract
Despite the remarkable progress in electronic skins (e-skins), it remains a great challenge to achieve high biocompatibility, multimodal response, and self-healing abilities simultaneously. Here, a fully biobased self-healing bimodal sensor based on the polymerizable deep eutectic solvent (PDES) ionic elastomer is elaborately constructed for skin-contact multifunctional e-skin applications. Utilizing the synergistic regulation of physical and hydrogen bonding networks constructed by the polydopamine-coated cellulose nanocrystal, the bioderived PDES breaks the limitations of general biobased materials in strength and toughness while possessing excellent self-healing properties. The resulting ionic elastomer exhibits outstanding biocompatibility (cell viability over 87%), excellent autonomous self-healing efficiency (>90%), and superior mechanical properties (2.95 and 69.57 times higher tensile strength and toughness than pure bioderived PDES). Furthermore, intrinsic ionic migration within the PDES and the pH-responsive property of the anthocyanin coating enable the sensor to bimodally detect human motion and sweat physiological information visualization, with a stable electrical output signal and a wide sweat visualization range (pH 3–12) both before and after self-healing. This work provides new perspectives for the future skin-contact and implantable bioelectronics in medical diagnostics and healthcare.