Ionic liquid–based click-ionogels

Abstract

Gels that are freeze-resistant and heat-resistant and have high ultimate tensile strength are desirable in practical applications owing to their potential in designing flexible energy storage devices, actuators, and sensors. Here, a simple method for fabricating ionic liquid (IL)-based click-ionogels using thiol-ene click chemistry under mild condition is reported. These click-ionogels continue to exhibit excellent mechanical properties and resilience after 10,000 fatigue cycles. Moreover, due to several unique properties of ILs, these click-ionogels exhibit high ionic conductivity, transparency, and nonflammability performance over a wide temperature range (-75° to 340°C). Click-ionogel-based triboelectric nanogenerators exhibit excellent mechanical, freeze-thaw, and heat stability. These promising features of click-ionogels will promote innovative applications in flexible and safe device design.