Electronic polymers are functional materials of central importance to a range of applications spanning from energy storage to electronic devices. Additional applications are emerging in new areas of research including stretchable electronics and soft robotics, where electronic conductors are required to be stretchable. Take the polymer ionic conductors for one example. While a substantial amount of research has addressed the electronic properties of ionic conductors, there is a clear lack of research addressing the mechanical properties of ionic conductors. In particular, applications that require high stretchability and that experience significant mechanical wear would strongly benefit from the integration of self-healing capabilities in order to extend lifetime and lower cost of devices. This paper introduces a transparent, self-healing, ionically conductive elastomer, that tolerates extreme strains (&gt;5000%), has an ionic conductivity of 10-4 S cm-1 and is highly transparent across the visible spectrum (average transmittance of 92%). The material can fully heal from severe mechanical damage within 24 hours at room temperature. We demonstrate the unique properties of the ionically conductive elastomer by using it to fabricate self-healing transparent artificial muscles.

Mechanically adaptive electronic polymers for transparent self-healing artificial muscle

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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