A Conductive Self-Healing Hybrid Gel Enabled by Metal-Ligand Supramolecule and Nanostructured Conductive Polymer.
Self-healing materials emerge as a fascinating class of materials important for various technological applications. However, achieving the synergistic characteristics of high conductivity, room-temperature self-healing ability, and decent mechanical properties still remains a critical challenge. Here we develop for the first time a hybrid gel based on self-assembled supramolecular gel and nanostructured polypyrrole that synergizes the dynamic assembly/disassembly nature of metal-ligand supramolecule and the conductive nanostructure of polypyrrole hydrogel and exhibits features of high conductivity (12 S m(-1)), appealing mechanical and electrical self-healing property without any external stimuli, and enhanced mechanical strength and flexibility. The attractive characteristics of the hybrid gel are further demonstrated by a flexible yet self-healable electrical circuit. Our work shows the great potential of self-healing hybrid gel system in flexible electronics and provides a useful strategy to design multifunctional self-healing materials.
Materials Science and Engineering Program and ‡Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.|Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and ∥Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization Program, Texas State University , San Marcos, Texas 78666, United States.
Ye
Y
Shi
Materials Science and Engineering Program and ‡Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.|Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and ∥Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization Program, Texas State University , San Marcos, Texas 78666, United States.
Ming
M
Wang
Materials Science and Engineering Program and ‡Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.|Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and ∥Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization Program, Texas State University , San Marcos, Texas 78666, United States.
Chongbo
C
Ma
Materials Science and Engineering Program and ‡Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.|Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and ∥Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization Program, Texas State University , San Marcos, Texas 78666, United States.
Yaqun
Y
Wang
Materials Science and Engineering Program and ‡Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.|Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and ∥Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization Program, Texas State University , San Marcos, Texas 78666, United States.
Xiaopeng
X
Li
Materials Science and Engineering Program and ‡Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas 78712, United States.|Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and ∥Materials Science, Engineering, and Commercialization Program, Texas State University , San Marcos, Texas 78666, United States.
Guihua
G
Yu
Supramolecular chemistry; hybrid gel; multifunctional; nanostructured conductive polymer; self-healing