Issue 12, 2021

An autonomously ultrafast self-healing, highly colourless, tear-resistant and compliant elastomer tailored for transparent electromagnetic interference shielding films integrated in flexible and optical electronics

Abstract

Considering the operation reliability of flexible and optical electronics (FOEs) in dynamic and real-world environments, autonomous self-healing electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials with high transparency, good stretchability and excellent tear-resistance are urgently required but always difficult to achieve due to the poor dynamics of their elastic substrates. Herein, we propose a facile strategy to design a highly dynamic polyurea elastomer (PDMS-MPI-HDI) featuring with ultrahigh optical transparency (>94%), ultralow elastic modulus (<1 MPa), high tear-resistant stretchability (800%), and ultrafast autonomous self-healing (100 s for scratch-healing). Taking PDMS-MPI-HDI as a substrate for embedding silver nanowires (Ag NWs), the first transparent, stretchable and self-healable EMI shielding materials (Ag NWs/PDMS-MPI-HDI) are presented. Failure behavior of Ag NWs/PDMS-MPI-HDI is highly tolerant of prefabricated cracks under deformation. Due to the robust interfacial adhesion between Ag NWs and PDMS-MPI-HDI, the fractured Ag NW network can autonomously self-reconstruct during the healing process of PDMS-MPI-HDI substrates, contributing to the complete restoration of EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) and full erasure of scratches at both the resting and stretching states. Besides, Ag NWs/PDMS-MPI-HDI exhibits fast autonomous self-healing at high (60 °C) and low (0 °C) temperatures, and in artificial sweat, which is essential for FOEs applicable in various practical environments.

Graphical abstract: An autonomously ultrafast self-healing, highly colourless, tear-resistant and compliant elastomer tailored for transparent electromagnetic interference shielding films integrated in flexible and optical electronics

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
29 7 2021
Accepted
27 9 2021
First published
01 10 2021

Mater. Horiz., 2021,8, 3356-3367

An autonomously ultrafast self-healing, highly colourless, tear-resistant and compliant elastomer tailored for transparent electromagnetic interference shielding films integrated in flexible and optical electronics

F. Sun, J. Xu, T. Liu, F. Li, Y. Poo, Y. Zhang, R. Xiong, C. Huang and J. Fu, Mater. Horiz., 2021, 8, 3356 DOI: 10.1039/D1MH01199E

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements