Electro-mechano responsive elastomers with self- tunable conductivity and stiffness

Zhang1*, Shi-Yang Tang3* Materials with programmable conductivity and stiffness offer new design opportunities for next-generation en-gineered systems in soft robotics and electronic devices. However, existing approaches fail to harness variable electrical and mechanical properties synergistically and lack the ability to self-respond to environmental changes. We report an electro-mechano responsive Field's metal hybrid elastomer exhibiting variable and tunable conductivity, strain sensitivity, and stiffness. By synergistically harnessing these properties, we demon-strate two applications with over an order of magnitude performance improvement compared to state-of-the-art, including a self-triggered multiaxis compliance compensator for robotic manipulators, and a resettable, highly compact, and fast current-limiting fuse with an adjustable fusing current. We envisage that the extraor-dinary electromechanical properties of our hybrid elastomer will bring substantial advancements in resilient robotic systems, intelligent instruments, and flexible electronics. Commons License

Automated summary

Reported the development of an electro-mechano responsive Field's metal hybrid elastomer with variable conductivity and stiffness, which can be applied in soft robotics and electronic devices. This material demonstrates significant improvements in performance compared to existing approaches and has potential applications in resilient robotic systems, intelligent instruments, and flexible electronics.