Iontronic logic control driven by dynamic electrical double layer regulation
Xiang Li, Zhong Lin Wang, Di Wei
Abstract
Logic control underpins modern computation, sensing, and information processing, yet conventional semiconductor systems, despite their speed, integration density, and stability, remain limited by high energy demand, restricted memory plasticity, and poor biocompatibility. This Perspective introduces iontronic logic control as a next-generation paradigm in which ions act as information carriers for programmable signal processing. Logic control can be implemented through ion-concentration gradients, mechanically induced ionic migration, and dynamic regulation of electrical double layers (EDLs) at interfaces under applied fields. Critically, at dielectric interfaces where no external bias is imposed, localized triboelectric fields generated through contact electrification enable electrostatic regulation of EDLs, coupling mechanical-energy harvesting with real-time logic-state modulation. This mechanism facilitates robust ionic-electronic interactions without external power input. Within such an energy-information flow framework, iontronic logic achieves ultralow-power signal processing, intrinsic memory and plasticity, and reliable operation in aqueous and bio-relevant environments. Representative systems operate with millisecond-level or faster response times and energy consumption in the nanowatt range or even self-powered performance under triboelectric or concentration-gradient excitation. These capabilities open pathways to flexible, self-powered, and bio-integrated information systems that transcend the fundamental constraints of traditional semiconductor electronics.