An intrinsic phase change elastomer with superior stretchability and reparable capabilities for self-thermal managing stretchable electronics

Abstract

In recent years, phase change materials (PCMs) are gradually developed and utilized for thermal management in wearable electronics due to their autonomous heat absorption ability during the phase change process. However, the high rigidity (elastic modulus ＞ 100 MPa) and stiffness (yield strain ＜ 15%) severely limited the thermal management application of the reported PCMs in stretchable electronics. Herein, we present an intrinsic phase change elastomer (IPCE) combining the function of PCM and elastomer by introducing crystalline polyethylene glycol segments and amorphous polypropylene glycol segments into an elaborately designed chemical cross-linked networks. The fabricated IPCE merges excellent softness (elastic modulus ＜ 20 MPa), stretchability of 900%, elastic mechanical behavior (without yield phenomenon), fantastic thermal management ability, and outstanding thermal repairable capability. Eventually, we fabricated a simple strain sensor with IPCE as substrate by spraying gold nanoparticles on both sides of the IPCE film. The stable sensing ability that repeatedly monitoring the subtle human motion and autonomous thermal management behavior of the strain sensor demonstrated the appealing practicability of our IPCE. This work paved an avenue for fabricating stretchable and self-thermal managing elastomer for stretchable electronics.