Photodegradable, Self‐Healing, and Soft‐Tough Transparent Elastomers Via Zinc Coordination for Transient Electronics
Abstract
Abstract Transient electronics have emerged as a promising way to mitigate electronic pollution. However, developing soft transient electronics with practical potential to recover mechanical properties, restore sensing signals during operation, and rapidly vanish under specific external stimulation remains challenging. Herein, a molecular design strategy is proposed based on Zn 2 ⁺‐coordinated oxime‐carbamate groups to simultaneously enhance mechanical strength, toughness, self‐healing, and photodegradation performance in soft polyurethane elastomers (Zn‐MDPU). Compared with MDPU elastomers without Zn 2+ coordination interactions, the mechanical strength and toughness of Zn‐MDPU elastomers are enhanced 3.8‐ and 16‐fold, respectively, without any deterioration in their softness. The Zn 2+ ions facilitate both the dynamic exchange of oxime‐carbamate units, to enable efficient self‐healing at room temperature, and the homolytic scission of weak N─O bonds within these groups for photodegradation. Application of Zn‐MDPU elastomers coated with liquid metal is demonstrated through a patterned flexible transient conductor for human–machine interaction and health monitoring, along with the development of a self‐healing triboelectric nanogenerator for mechanical energy harvesting. The proposed molecular design strategy opens vast possibilities for developing soft transient materials for wearable electronics applications.
Article Details
Authors (11)
Yufeng Ni
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials Institute of Functional Materials College of Materials Science and Engineering Research Base of Textile Materials for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications (China Textile Engineering Society) Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano‐Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine Donghua University 2999 North Renmin Road Shanghai 201620 P.R. China
Guoqiang Lei
College of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Donghua University Shanghai 201620 P. R. China
Chengzhen Chu
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials Institute of Functional Materials College of Materials Science and Engineering Research Base of Textile Materials for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications (China Textile Engineering Society) Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano‐Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine Donghua University 2999 North Renmin Road Shanghai 201620 P.R. China
Shaofan Wang
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials Institute of Functional Materials College of Materials Science and Engineering Research Base of Textile Materials for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications (China Textile Engineering Society) Shanghai Key Laboratory of Lightweight Composite Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano‐Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine Donghua University Shanghai 201620 P. R. China
Yujie Jia
Huanwei Shi
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials Institute of Functional Materials College of Materials Science and Engineering Research Base of Textile Materials for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications (China Textile Engineering Society) Shanghai Key Laboratory of Lightweight Composite Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano‐Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine Donghua University Shanghai 201620 P. R. China
Rasoul Esmaeely Neisiany
Chuanglong He
College of Biological Science and Medical Engineering Donghua University Shanghai 201620 P. R. China
Ming Tian
State Key Laboratory of Organic–Inorganic Composites, College of Materials Science and Engineering
Shuo Chen
Zhengwei You
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials Institute of Functional Materials College of Materials Science and Engineering Research Base of Textile Materials for Flexible Electronics and Biomedical Applications (China Textile Engineering Society) Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Nano‐Biomaterials and Regenerative Medicine Donghua University 2999 North Renmin Road Shanghai 201620 P.R. China