Zwitterionic Block Engineering Enables Ionogels to Overcome the Strength–Healing Trade-Off for Sustainable Electronics
발표자
김지홍 (한양대학교)
연구책임자
김도환 (한양대학교)
초록
내용
Sustainable flexible electronic skins require materials that integrate ionic conductivity, mechanical strength, and self-healing. Ionogels are promising candidates, but achieving both toughness and reparability remains challenging due to trade-offs between mechanical reinforcement and polymer chain mobility. Polyurethanes (PUs) offer phase-separated structures suitable for balancing these properties, yet ionic liquids often disrupt this morphology.
Here, a zwitterionic polyurethane-based ionogel is developed through side-chain engineering. Incorporating hydrophilic zwitterionic groups into the hard segments preserves phase separation and promotes dynamic electrostatic and ion–dipole interactions, enabling self-healing and efficient ion transport. The resulting ionogel demonstrates high ionic conductivity, mechanical robustness, environmental stability, and strain sensitivity, making it ideal for next-generation soft electronics.