Facile Solvent Regulation for Highly Strong and Tough Physical Eutectogels with Remarkable Strain Sensitivity

Evolutionary Reinforcement of Polymer Networks: A Stepwise‐Enhanced Strategy for Ultrarobust Eutectogels

“…[37,39] As shown in Figure 4a; and Figure S15 (Supporting Information), the fracture energy was determined to be 0.2 kJ m −2 for PVA 20 , 12.4 kJ m −2 for A-PVA 20 , and 73.8 kJ m −2 for A-SE-PVA 20 as the enhancement progressed. In addition, the tearing energy counted by trouser tearing tests revealed a similar trend, [49,50] , i.e., 0.3, 7.1, and 90.5 kJ m −2 for PVA 20 , A-PVA 20 , and A-SE-PVA 20 , respectively (Figure 4b; and Figure S16, Supporting Information). The increase in fracture energy and tearing energy could be attributed to the fact that the stepwise-enhanced strategy significantly induced the formation and growth of crystalline domains, resulting in a much higher energy requirement per unit area for breaking domains compared to breaking amorphous polymer chains.…”

“…[43] Feng et al reported a PVA eutectogel-based strain sensor featuring high sensitivity through a solvent regulation method. [50] Considering the remarkable mechanical properties and inherent conductivity of A-SE-PVA 20 eutectogel, we devised an electronic ligament for the knuckle of a manipulator (Figure S21, Supporting Information). This electronic ligament can not only simulate the function of a human ligament by controlling and guiding bone movements to prevent excessive joint motion or damage, but also serve as a strain sensor for remotely monitoring manipulator movements.…”

Formation of Self-Healing Granular Eutectogels through Jammed Carbopol Microgels in Supercooled Deep Eutectic Solvent

“…This level of conductivity is still suitable for fabricating wearable sensors. 42,48,53,54 Mechanism of Physical Eutectogel: Self-Healing and Jammed Structure. The eutectogel, displaying soft gel behavior, becomes evident when the Carbopol concentration exceeds 2 wt %.…”

“…Moreover, the polymer cannot fully dissolve in the DES, as partial crystallization must occur to establish the necessary cross-linking points . Consequently, only a few physical eutectogel systems have been reported thus far. − In this work, we propose another strategy for developing physical eutectogels without resorting to any network. Physical eutectogels are fabricated by utilizing low-cost commercial microgels (Carbopol) in conjunction with a DES containing choline chloride (HBA) and citric acid (HBD).…”

A flexible, stretchable and wearable strain sensor based on physical eutectogels for deep learning-assisted motion identification

“…28 Due to the necessary usage of chemical cross-linking agents posing a hazardous impact on both the humans and the environment, 29 physical eutectogels with physically interacted polymer networks are more praised for their dynamic recyclability and biosafety, making them a feasible substitute to chemically cross-linked gels. 30,31 However, because of the weak noncovalent interactions, physical eutectogels generally lack sufficient elastic modulus, tensile strength, and toughness, which significantly inhibits their practical application in wearable electronics. 30 Moreover, endowing the eutectogels with multifunctionalities such as outstanding adhesive properties beneficial for stable and conformal interfaces and excellent self-healing capacity ensuring a long service life for physical eutectogel-based wearable sensors is also highly anticipated.…”