Multifunctional Conductive Elastomers Based on Tannic Acid and Polymerizable 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Chloride/Acrylic Acid Deep Eutectic Solvent
Wei Chen, Wenqing Sun, Jincan Li, Yingxuan Qiu, Liyuan Qiu, Jing Ma, Nan Li, Xingxiang Ji
Abstract
It is attractive, though challenging, to integrate multiple functions into one conductive elastomer, which can be used in a wide variety of complex scenarios. Here, a series of multifunctional conductive elastomers were fabricated by incorporating various amounts of tannic acid (TA) into the polymerization of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride/acrylic acid-type deep eutectic solvent. The obtained conductive elastomers exhibit a combination of desirable properties, including high transparency (an average transmittance of 94.3%), ultrahigh stretchability (1250%), reliable self-healing ability (87.5% healing efficiency for 24 h), favorable conductivity (1.3 × 10 –2 mS·cm –1 ), and excellent temperature tolerance (−20 to 120 °C). Simultaneously, the conductive elastomers showed excellent adhesion to various substrates. Those fabricated conductive elastomer-based sensors could sensitively detect and distinguish various motions with good stability and repeatability from −20 to 120 °C. In addition, we have demonstrated the practical suitability of the fabricated elastomers in constructing flexible electroluminescent devices. The conductive elastomers are believed to show great promise in next-generation wearable electronic devices.