writer：Shuxiang Liu, Yuping Chen, Jin Feng, ...,Hanbing Rao, Tao Zhou*, Gehong Su*
keywords：Organohydrogel, Tissue-like materials, Soft yet tough, Multi-functionalities, Soft ionotronics
source：期刊
specific source：Chemical Engineering Journal, 2023, 466, 143087
Issue time：2023年

To date, hydrogels with skin-like ionic conduction mechanisms are gaining popularity in fabricating soft electronics. Integrating the tissue-like mechanical properties and multi-functionalities into one hydrogel system is crucial for its practical application in diverse scenarios. Nevertheless, it remains a significant challenge to realize. Here, we present a mechanically soft tissue-like organohydrogel with ionic conduction mechanism and multiple functions via constructing plentiful “sacrificial bonds” (hydrogen bonding) between the hydrophobic association poly(acrylamide)/gelatin (HAPAM/gelatin) hydrogel and ethylene glycol/water (EG/H2O) clusters. By systematically optimizing the compositions, the organohydrogel displayed desired mechanical properties that fully matched human soft tissues, including the unique soft (~77.8 kPa in Young’s modulus) yet tough (3.07 MJ m-3 in toughness) features. Meanwhile, the gel is tear-resistant (~3.15 kJ m-2 in fracture energy), strong (~0.4 MPa in tensile and ~4.1 MPa in compression), and ultra-stretchable (~1324 %). In addition, the organohydrogel integrated a broad spectrum of functionalities, including optically transparent, self-healing, freezing/heating tolerant, adhesive, and deformation sensitive. By taking these advantages, applications in soft ionotronic sensors for healthcare monitoring and information encryption/decryption were presented using the organohydrogel. It is expected that this work will shed some light on developing artificial materials with mechanical features resembling soft tissues and sophisticated functionalities.