Robust, Highly Extensible, and Conformally Self‐Adhesive Ionogels Enabled by Spiderweb‐Inspired Supramolecular Topology

ABSTRACT Ionogels have attracted significant interest in bioelectronics and soft robotics owing to their eco‐friendly stability and adhesion. However, conventional ionogels face an inherent trade‐off between mechanical robustness and both conformality and extensibility: dense crosslinking enhances robustness but compromises skin‐conformal modulus and extensibility, whereas soft, highly extensible networks often suffer from structural failure and poor tensile durability. Herein, we report robust, highly extensible, and conformally self‐adhesive ionogels enabled by a universal, spiderweb‐inspired supramolecular topological strategy. The structural synergy of spiderwebs is mimicked by employing n ‐arm‐PEG‐cucurbit[7]uril topologies as “radial threads” and hydrophilic ionic liquid‐derived P(DMAA‐ co ‐HVIm) chains together with [HMIm]Br as “spiral threads”. By interlocking the polymer chains and compensating for cohesion loss caused by the breaking of weak hydrogen bonds, the host‐guest interaction‐driven topology endows the ionogels with 43.96‐fold stress and 3.24‐fold strain while preserving the skin‐conformal elastic modulus. Maintained in a frequency‐independent critical‐gel‐point state, these recyclable and self‐healing ionogels exhibit exceptional conformally self‐adhesive properties. This structural design bridges the gap between mechanical robustness and skin compliance, offering a highly reliable platform for conformal human‐machine interfaces, even under mechanically demanding scenarios.

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Publication Details

Journal
Advanced Functional Materials
Published
2026-09-16
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.78449
Primary Topic
Supramolecular Self-Assembly in Materials
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Robust, Highly Extensible, and Conformally Self‐Adhesive Ionogels Enabled by Spiderweb‐Inspired Supramolecular Topology

Yebang Tan, You Lu, Chengyu Wang, Weicheng Zhao et al.
Advanced Functional Materials
Supramolecular Self-Assembly in Materials
article

Robust, Highly Extensible, and Conformally Self‐Adhesive Ionogels Enabled by Spiderweb‐Inspired Supramolecular Topology

Yebang Tan, You Lu, Chengyu Wang, Weicheng Zhao, Jin Zhang
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ionogels have attracted significant interest in bioelectronics and soft robotics owing to their eco‐friendly stability and adhesion. However, conventional ionogels face an inherent trade‐off between mechanical robustness and both conformality and extensibility: dense crosslinking enhances robustness but compromises skin‐conformal modulus and extensibility, whereas soft, highly extensible networks often suffer from structural failure and poor tensile durability. Herein, we report robust, highly extensible, and conformally self‐adhesive ionogels enabled by a universal, spiderweb‐inspired supramolecular topological strategy. The structural synergy of spiderwebs is mimicked by employing n ‐arm‐PEG‐cucurbit[7]uril topologies as “radial threads” and hydrophilic ionic liquid‐derived P(DMAA‐ co ‐HVIm) chains together with [HMIm]Br as “spiral threads”. By interlocking the polymer chains and compensating for cohesion loss caused by the breaking of weak hydrogen bonds, the host‐guest interaction‐driven topology endows the ionogels with 43.96‐fold stress and 3.24‐fold strain while preserving the skin‐conformal elastic modulus. Maintained in a frequency‐independent critical‐gel‐point state, these recyclable and self‐healing ionogels exhibit exceptional conformally self‐adhesive properties. This structural design bridges the gap between mechanical robustness and skin compliance, offering a highly reliable platform for conformal human‐machine interfaces, even under mechanically demanding scenarios.

Advanced Functional Materials
University of Jinan (CN)
Openalex Percentile: Top 21%
Supramolecular Self-Assembly in Materials
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