Ionic liquid (IL)-based conductive
elastomers have recently emerged
as promising stretchable electrodes for applications in flexible electronic
devices because of the interesting features of ILs. However, conventional
IL-based elastomers suffer from low mechanical properties, instability
in the ambient environment, and lack of self-healability. Herein,
highly stretchable, stable, and self-healable IL-based conductive
elastomers PnBA/SiO2/PVI (Cu2+, [EMIM]+[BF4]−) were designed and facilely fabricated
by one-pot Pickering emulsion polymerization. The Pickering emulsion
is composed of the continuous phase of n-butyl acrylate,
the dispersed phase containing vinylimidazole, copper acetate and
IL ([EMIM]+[BF4]−), and the
surfactant vinyl-SiO2. The fabricated materials feature
an elastic matrix with microionogel particles embedded in it. The
system is chemically and physically cross-linked via vinyl-SiO2 and Cu2+-imidazole coordination interaction, respectively.
Such a rational design endows the resulting elastomers with a wide
range of properties, including good conductivity, high stretchability,
excellent mechanical properties, and self-healability. Besides, owing
to this unique structure, they display high stability and their weight
and electrical aspects remain almost unchanged in open air and a wide
temperature range (30, 50, and 100 °C). Utilizing as flexible
sensors, the as-prepared elastomers are able to accurately monitor
real-time human motions via converting external stimuli into stable
and repeatable signal variations during deformations.