Transparent, Highly Stretchable, Rehealable, Sensing, and Fully Recyclable Ionic Conductors Fabricated by One-Step Polymerization Based on a Small Biological Molecule

To date, various stretchable conductors have been fabricated, but simultaneous realization of the transparency, high stretchability, electrical conductivity, self-healing capability, and sensing property through a simple, fast, cost-efficient approach is still challenging. Here, alpha-lipoic acid (LA), a naturally small biological molecule found in humans and animals, is used to fabricate transparent (>85%), electrical conductivity, highly stretchable (strain up to 1100%), and rehealable (mechanical healing efficiency of 86%, electrical healing efficiency of 96%) ionic conductor by solvent-free one-step polymerization. Furthermore, the ionic conductors with appealing sensitivity can be served as strain sensors to detect and distinguish various human activities. Notably, this ionic conductor can be fully recycled and reprocessed into new ionic conductors or adhesives by a direct heating process, which offers a promising prospect in great reduction of electronic wastes that have brought acute environmental pollution. In consideration ofthe extremely facile preparation process, biological available materials, satisfactory functionalities, and full recyclability, the emergence of LA-based ionic conductors is believed to open up a new avenue for developing sustainable and wearable electronic devices in the future.