Self-healing and stretchable PDMS-based bifunctional sensor enabled by synergistic dynamic interactions

Abstract

The bio-integrated electronics industry is booming and becoming more integrated with biological tissues. However, it is challenging to obtain high-level self-healing of sensitivity and durability of bifunctional sensor when maintaining their long-term fatigue-resistance and high stretchability. Herein, a high performance self-healable bifunctional sensor was demonstrated through synergistic dynamic interactions between polysiloxane and silver nanoflakes (AgFs) and in-situ formed silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The bifunctional sensor showed high sensitivity (gauge factor reached 39.5), exceptional electrical self-healability (at ambient temperature), and durability (more than 1000 cycles) by virtue of superflexible siloxane chains in the self-healing polymer, strong dynamic silver-thiolate coordination interactions, and the migration of silver nanoparticles. Finally, multiple human motions and health status were monitored, even after multiple cycles of healing, these “self-healed” sensing signals were still extremely consistent with the pristine ones, indicating the excellent reliabilities and healing stabilities of the bifunctional sensor.