Tough Transient Ionic Junctions Printed with Ionic Microgels |
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Authors: | Ran Huo Guangyu Bao Zixin He Xuan Li Zhenwei Ma Zhen Yang Roozbeh Moakhar Shuaibing Jiang Christopher Chung-Tze-Cheong Alexander Nottegar Changhong Cao Sara Mahshid Jianyu Li |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H3A 0C3 Canada;2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, 817 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H3A 0C3 Canada
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2211 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z7 Canada;3. Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, 3480 University, Montreal, QC, H3A 0E9 Canada |
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Abstract: | Emerging soft ionotronics better match the human body mechanically and electrically compared to conventional rigid electronics. They hold great potential for human-machine interfaces, wearable and implantable devices, and soft machines. Among various ionotronic devices, ionic junctions play critical roles in rectifying currents as electrical p–n junctions. Existing ionic junctions, however, are limited in electrical and mechanical performance, and are difficult to fabricate and degrade. Herein, the design, fabrication, and characterization of tough transient ionic junctions fabricated via 3D ionic microgel printing is reported. The 3D printing method demonstrates excellent printability and allows one to fabricate ionic junctions of various configurations with high fidelity. By combining ionic microgels, degradable networks, and highly charged biopolymers, the ionic junctions feature high stretchability (stretch limit 27), high fracture energy (>1000 Jm?2), excellent electrical performance (current rectification ratio >100), and transient stability (degrade in 1 week). A variety of ionotronic devices, including ionic diodes, ionic bipolar junction transistors, ionic full-wave rectifiers, and ionic touchpads are further demonstrated. This study merges ionotronics, 3D printing, and degradable hydrogels, and will motivate the future development of high-performance transient ionotronics. |
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Keywords: | 3D printing granular hydrogels microgels ionotronics tough hydrogels |
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