A new class of ultra-stretchable and highly ion conductive hierarchical structured iono-elastomer, a subset of ion gels, is developed for use in emerging technologies involving wearable electronics and smart textiles, with potential applications as stretchable batteries, motion sensors, and integrated circuits. Fabrication of such materials usually requires the use of hybrid technology that mixes metals, polymers and conductive materials, to tie the system together electronically. Unlike other manufacturing strategies of current elastomeric composite materials that involve sophisticated and complex integration of elastomeric substrates with micro- or nano-structured organic or inorganic electronic materials via multi-step and often costly processes, fabrication of this material is a facile simplified synthesis process by hierarchical self-assembly of concentrated solutions of end-functionalized commercially available, in-expensive triblock copolymer in a protic ionic liquid, followed by micelle corona crosslinking to generate elastomeric iono-elastomers. The resulted materials exhibit an unprecedented combination of high stretchability, high ionic conductivity and mechano-electrical response. Importantly, the materials conductivity increases with extension, a unique and non-trivial material response, whose origin is postulated to be the microstructural rearrangement of the micelles under uniaxial deformation using <i>in situ</i> Sentmanat Extension Rheometer-small angle neutron scattering (SER-SANS). Based on the unique material invention, the first large strain amplitude, stretchable resistive strain sensor patch prototype was developed for customers (e.g., athletes, patients undergoing physical therapy, biomechanicians, etc.) to accurately track motion and performance of specific joints and/or muscles on their smart phone, tablet or computer via Bluetooth wireless communication, with applications in motion capturing, sports performance tracking and rehabilitation monitoring.

Self-assembly of Pluronic triblock copolymers in a protic ionic liquid and polymerization to create wearable electronics

255th National Meeting (2018)

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