3D Printable, Biomimetic Adhesive, and Self-healing Acrylic Elastomers for Customized Attachable Strain Sensor

Abstract The advances in flexible electronics, soft robotics, and many other fields resulted in increased demands for high-performance self-healing elastomers (SHEs). In this work, novel SHEs were prepared by photo-initiated copolymerization of acrylic acid and alkyl acrylates. The as-obtained SHEs exhibited 100% autonomous self-healing efficiency at ambient temperature due to the formation of hydrogen bonding between the hydroxyl groups of acrylic acid unit and carbonyl groups of alkyl acrylate unit. The strong supramolecular interaction yielded SHEs with 3D printing capability, high stretchability, and remarkable adhesion properties. Meanwhile, biomimetic adhesion was developed by solvent-wetting method to enable convenient adherence of SHEs on various substrates. Furthermore, the introduction of carboxylic ionic liquid led to the formation of a nonleaking and attachable ionogel by 3D printing for strain sensing applications. The as-obtained strain sensor precisely detected various gestures of human fingers, and successfully recognized sign language through a comprehensive analysis of electronic signals. In sum, the high-performance SHEs look promising for future SHE-based intelligent products thanks to their common raw feedstocks, 3D printing capability, and multi-functional characteristics.