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Ionoskins: Nonvolatile, Highly Transparent, Ultrastretchable

Ionic Sensory Platforms for Wearable Electronics
Yong Min Kim and Hong Chul Moon*

(e.g., polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)) was

The primary technology of next-generation wearable electronics pursues the conventionally suggested. However, this
development of highly deformable and stable systems. Here, nonvolatile, strategy involves the intrinsic problem
highly transparent, and ultrastretchable ionic conductors based on polymeric arising from incompatibility between
gelators [poly(methyl methacrylate-ran-butyl acrylate), PMMA-r-PBA] and ionic soft matrix (elastomer) and hard addi-
tives (conductive fillers) unless surface
liquids (IL) are proposed. A crucial strategy in the molecular design of polymer
modification is performed, which pro-
gelators is copolymerization of PMMA and IL-insoluble low glass transition duces agglomerates of fillers and impedes
temperature (Tg) polymers that can be deformed and effectively dissipate uniform dispersion of conductors.[35,36]
applied strains. Highly stretchable (elongation limit ≈850%), mechanically As a result, a nonlinear response[37,38] in
robust (elastic modulus ≈3.1 × 105 Pa), and deformation durable (recovery accordance with applied strains and irre-
versible behaviors[27,39] during stretching/
ratio ≈96.1% after 500 stretching/releasing cycles) gels are obtained by judi-
releasing cycles can be observed.
ciously adjusting the molecular characteristics of polymer gelators and gel Recently, ionically conductive sensory
composition. An extremely simple “ionic” strain sensory platform is fabricated systems have been proposed as an alterna-
by directly connecting the stretchable gel and a digital multimeter, exhibiting tive. A representative system is a hydrogel
high sensitivity (gauge factor ≈2.73), stable operation (>13 000 cycles), and containing salts, exhibiting conductivity
nonvolatility (>10 d in air). Moreover, the skin-type strain sensor, referred to attributed to movement of ions.[40–42]
The hydrogel itself is not only deform-
as ionoskin, is demonstrated. The gels are attached to a part of the body (e.g.,
able but also conductive, so the variation
finger, elbow, knee, or ankle) and various human movements are successfully in resistance can be readily monitored by
monitored. The ionoskin renders the opportunity to achieve wearable ubiqui- directly connecting wires. The significant
tous electronics such as healthcare devices and smart textile systems. improvement of mechanical robustness
of hydrogels has been also achieved using
chemical and/or ionic crosslinking.[43–45]
Nonetheless, most hydrogels severely
1. Introduction suffer from drying in an open environment without specific
encapsulation or addition of humectants.[46] To overcome the
The advent of stretchable systems offers an opportunity drying issue, a few papers proposed utilization of nonvolatile
for realizing next-generation wearable electronics.[1–21] For ionic liquids. However, the fabrication of predesigned con-
example, high-strain sensory platforms with a detection limit tainers or channels is required to prevent leakage, in addition
exceeding the strain (≈55%[22]) produced by the movement to encapsulation.[47–49] Recently, solid-state gels comprised of
of human joints have been successfully applied to human ionic liquids and polymers have been used in wearable elec-
motion detection and personal healthcare monitoring.[23–26] tronics.[50–52] Most systems have focused on the demonstration
The fundamental principle of most strain sensors is based of pressure sensors that respond to compressive strain probably
on measurement of change in resistance (or conductivity) of due to the absence of suitable polymer gelators for obtaining
stretchable conductors with mechanical deformation. There- highly stretchable ionic materials. This implies that the devel-
fore, incorporation of electrically conductive materials, such as opment of effective polymer systems to achieve highly deform-
inorganic particles,[27,28] liquid metals,[29–31] and carbon mate- able ionic materials is very challenging but essentially required
rials (e.g., graphene or carbon nanotube),[32,33] into elastomers for wearable/stretchable sensory devices.
Herein, an extremely simple and innovative strategy for
achieving nonvolatile, ultrastretchable gel platforms for patch-
Y. M. Kim, Prof. H. C. Moon type strain sensors, referred to as ionoskin, is proposed. For
Department of Chemical Engineering this purpose, the approach involved molecular design of
University of Seoul polymer gelators considering that mechanical characteristics of
Seoul 02504, Republic of Korea ion gels strongly depend on those of polymer gelators.[17,53,54]
E-mail: hcmoon@uos.ac.kr
We revealed the design principle that copolymerization
The ORCID identification number(s) for the author(s) of this article
can be found under https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.201907290.
of low-glass transition temperature (Tg) components with
poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is crucial for achieving
DOI: 10.1002/adfm.201907290 highly deformable ionic systems, and PMMA-ran-poly(butyl

Adv. Funct. Mater. 2020, 30, 1907290 1907290 (1 of 8) © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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Table 1. Molecular characteristics of synthetic polymers employed in this work.
Code Mna) Mwa)
[g mol−1] [g mol−1]
PMMA 356 000 440 000
88-PMMA-r-PBA 405 000 502 000
57-PMMA-r-PBA 467 000 584 000
34-PMMA-r-PBA 445 000 556 000
17-PMMA-r-PBA 480 000 610 000
Poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) 470 000 602 000
Poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) 340 000 435 000
89-PMMA-r-PS d) 306 000 351 000
a)Measured by SEC calibrated with PS standards; b)Determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy; c)Calculated
by Mayo–Lewis equation; d)89-Poly(methyl methacrylate-ran-styrene).
acrylate) (PMMA-r-PBA) copolymers were suggested. Simple
blending of PMMA-r-PBA and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium
bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMI][TFSI])
physically cross-linked ionic conductors having ultrastretch-
ability (elongation up to ≈850%), high mechanical robustness
(elastic modulus ≈3.1 × 105 Pa), and good deformation dura-
bility (recovery ratio ≈96.1% after 500 stretching/releasing
cycles) when judiciously optimized. This ionic sensory platform
was applied in strain sensors and showed a high gauge factor
of ≈2.73, stable operation over 13 000 cycles in air, and non-
volatility for more than 10 d without extra sealing. In addition
to those features, high transparency (transmittance ≈98.5%) of
the gel allowed ionoskin to adhere to a body without heteroge-
neity, which was used to successfully monitor various human
movements.
2. Results and Discussion
2.1. Molecular Design Principle and Synthesis
of Novel Copolymer Gelators for Ultastretchable Ion Gels
A series of PMMA-r-PBA having similar molecular weights was
synthesized at four different compositions (see Table 1). The sam-
ples were denoted based on the content of PMMA in the copol-
ymer. For example, 88-PMMA-r-PBA corresponds to a copolymer
composed of 88 mol% of PMMA and 12 mol% of PBA. The
detailed synthetic process and molecular characterizations of syn-
thesized polymers are given in the Supporting Information (see
also Figures S1–S9). The PMMA-r-PBA copolymers and homo-
PMMA successfully served as gelators. For example, storage
moduli (G′) of the resulting gels were larger than loss moduli (G″)
over the entire experimental frequency range when the PMMA
content in PMMA-r-PBA was higher than 34 mol% (Figure S10,
Supporting Information), which is a characteristic of elastic gels
having a stable network structure.[54–56] While homogeneous
phase was observed from the gels containing homo-PMMA or
random copolymers (e.g., 88-PMMA-r-PBA), macrophase separa-
tion between PBA homopolymer and [EMI][TFSI] was observed
due to their poor compatibility (see Figure S11, Supporting Infor-
mation). This result implies that PBA chains cannot effectively
form homogeneous ion gels due to low miscibility.
Adv. Funct. Mater. 2020, 30, 1907290 1907290 (2 of 8)
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Figure 1a shows small-angle X-ray scat-
tering (SAXS) profiles of ion gels con-
Ða) MMAb) MMAc) sisting of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium
[mol%] [mol%] bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMI]
1.24 100 100 [TFSI]) (ionic liquid) and homo-PMMA
1.24 88.1 88.4 or 88-PMMA-r-PBA (polymer gelator). By
1.25 57.6 60.1
simultaneously fitting Guinier and Porod
regimes of the profiles using the Unified
1.25 34.6 40.1
model,[57–59] the radii of gyration (Rg) of
1.27 17.4 24.9 agglomerated (namely, insoluble in [EMI]
1.28 – – [TFSI]) domains were estimated to be ≈9.2
1.28 – – and ≈7.8 Å for the gels based on 88-PMMA-
1.15 88.8 88.6
r-PBA and homo-PMMA, respectively.
Considering the random copolymeriza-
tion of 12 mol% [EMI][TFSI]-insoluble
PBA, a slightly larger agglomeration size
in the 88-PMMA-r-PBA gel can be rational-
ized. Both gels were highly transparent (see inset images of
Figure 1a).
produced Despite similar structure and appearance, the significant
difference in mechanical properties (particularly in stretcha-
bility) was clearly observed in stress–strain curves (Figure 1b).
PMMA gels exhibited only ≈300% elongation, whereas the
88-PMMA-r-PBA gels could be stretched up to ≈850% (see
also Figure 1c). Elucidation of the origin of such ultras-
tretchability is important for material design of stretchable/
wearable electronics. One possible origin is indicated by the
different molecular characteristic of the gelators, for example,
glass transition temperature (Tg). Because Tg (≈89.3 °C) of
88-PMMA-r-PBA was lower than that (≈130.1 °C) of PMMA
(Figure S12, Supporting Information), higher chain mobility
and flexible motions were anticipated.[60,61] To clarify this cor-
relation, we prepared an ion gel containing 40 wt% poly(ethyl
methacrylate) (PEMA) having Tg (≈80.2 °C) similar to that of
88-PMMA-r-PBA (Figure S12, Supporting Information). None-
theless, the stretchability of PEMA-based gels was still limited
to ≈330% (Figure 1b and Figure S13, Supporting Informa-
tion). These results suggest that the unusual stretchability
of 88-PMMA-r-PBA-based gels arises from synergistic effects
of “co”polymerization of PMMA with [EMI][TFSI]-insoluble,
“low-Tg” PBA.
To demonstrate this hypothesis, we synthesized 89-PMMA-
r-PS with similar PMMA fraction but high Tg PS compared
to 88-PMMA-r-PBA. The resulting gel of the same composi-
tion (i.e., 40 wt% 89-PMMA-r-PS and 60% [EMI][TFSI]) could
be elongated up to ≈530%, which is still less than that of the
88-PMMA-r-PBA gel. It is concluded that the stretchability of
gels is highly related to the nature of [EMI][TFSI]-insoluble
components. Namely, when low-Tg polymers such as PBA
are copolymerized with PMMA and used as gelators, low Tg
agglomerates dispersed in the gel can be deformed and the
applied stress is effectively dissipated (Figure 1d). We note
that the 57-PMMA-r-PBA- and 34-PMMA-r-PBA-based ion gels
showed good stretchability of ≈630% and ≈430%, respectively
(Figure S14, Supporting Information). However, both had
lower elastic moduli and thus are not suitable for stretchable
electronics. Therefore, the 88-PMMA-r-PBA was an optimal
gelator in terms of high elastic moduli and stretchability and
was used in subsequent studies.
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Figure 1. a) Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) profiles of ion gels based on homo-PMMA and 88-PMMA-r-PBA. The lines represent fit to the unified
model.[57–59] b) Stress–strain curves for ion gels composed of 60 wt% [EMI][TFSI] and 40 wt% PMMA, PEMA, 89-PMMA-r-PBA, or 88-PMMA-r-PBA.
c) Photographs of an ultrastretchable 88-PMMA-r-PBA ion gel at ε = 0%, 400%, and 850%. d) Schematic illustration of the stretchable ion gels in this
work before (left) and after stretching (right).

2.2. Electrochemical and Mechanical Characteristics
of Ultrastretchable Ion Gels Based on PMMA-r-PBA
In addition to large mechanical deformation, high ionic con-
ductivity of gels is also necessary for high-performance human
motion sensors, achieved through high sensitivity based on
large changes in resistance even at small strains.[47,49] Figure 2a
displays variation of impedance (Z′) as a function of frequency
for ion gels at three representative compositions. The bulk gel
conductivity was assessed based on Z′ values at high frequen-
cies (>104 Hz), where the resistive component mainly contrib-
uted to impedance. The highest conductivity (≈1.33 mS cm−1)
was calculated for the gel containing the smallest amount
(30 wt%) of nonconducting 88-PMMA-r-PBA.[62] In general,
highly conductive gels can be obtained with a larger amount of
[EMI][TFSI], but mechanical robustness is degraded. Therefore,
the ratio of 88-PMMA-r-PBA and [EMI][TFSI] should be care-
fully chosen.
To evaluate mechanical suitability of gels for wearable elec-
tronics, we recorded stress–strain curves during uniaxial
tensile tests (Figure 2b). In contrast to ionic conductivity, the
highest elastic modulus (≈5.4 × 105 Pa) was measured with
the 50 wt% copolymer-containing gel, which is predictable
based on the tradeoff correlation between conductivity and
mechanical robustness.[53,54,56] Although a balanced property
is desired, such a high modulus hinders elongation of the
gel. For example, gels containing 50 wt% of 88-PMMA-r-PBA
were deformable to ≈350%. Overall, considering ionic conduc-
tivity (≈0.31 mS cm−1), mechanical robustness (elastic mod-
ulus ≈3.1 × 105), and stretchability (up to ≈850%), the ion gels
containing 40 wt% of 88-PMMA-r-PBA are most suitable for
deformable strain sensors. The optimal ion gel showed excel-
lent reversibility at tensile strain (ε) ≈100%, whereas light
distortion was observed at large ε (e.g., ≈600%) (Figure S15,
Supporting Information). Accordingly, we further examined
the cyclic stretching/releasing stability at ε ≈ 100% (Figure 2c)
in which similar stress–strain curves were still recorded after
500 cycles. Mechanical reversibility was quantitatively charac-
terized in terms of recovery ratio and residual strain.[63] After
500 consecutive cycles, the recovery ratio was ≈96.1%, and a

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Figure 2. a) Frequency dependence of the impedance (Z′) and b) stress–strain curves of ion gels based on 88-PMMA-r-PBA and [EMI][TFSI] at three
different weight compositions. Variations in c) stress–strain curves, and d) recovery ratio and residual strain as a function of stretching/releasing cycles
for stretchable gels containing 40 wt% 88-PMMA-r-PBA.
low residual strain level (≈3.2%) was maintained (Figure 2d).
In contrast, the ion gels including 40 wt% of 88-PMMA-r-PS
abruptly lost reversibility after 20 cycles, and severe degradation
of recovery ratio and relatively high residual strain were also
extracted (Figure S16, Supporting Information). This difference
indicates the importance and effectiveness of copolymerization
of PMMA with PBA (i.e., low-Tg polymer) for achieving highly
stretchable ion gels with excellent durability.
2.3. Strain Sensory Performance of Ionic Platforms
Based on PMMA-r-PBA
Ion gels themselves are ionic conductors. Therefore, variations
in resistance of ion gels in accordance with applied strains can
be tracked by directly connecting the gels to a digital multim-
eter in a very simple system. Figure 3a shows the 88-PMMA-
r-PBA based ion gel connected to a closed circuit equipped with
an LED. As the gel was stretched, the brightness of the emitted
light gradually decreased due to increase in resistance, indi-
cating the feasibility of the deformable gel as a strain sensing
platform. Figure 3b shows the relative change in resistance
(ΔR/R0) upon application of tensile strain up to ≈80%, in which
high sensitivity of the gel system based on the 88-PMMA-r-PBA
was verified at various strain amplitudes. In particular, relatively
small strains such as ε ≈ 0.5% could be detected (Figure S17,
Supporting Information). A linear response of changes in
relative resistance (ΔR/R0) to the applied strain was observed
(Figure 3c), which is an important feature for sensor appli-
cations. The gauge factor (GF), defined as GF = (ΔR/R0)/ε,
reached ≈2.73. A similar level of GF value (≈2.72) was measured
Adv. Funct. Mater. 2020, 30, 1907290
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over the extended strain range, indicating that the possible
detection strain limit of 88-PMMA-r-PBA-based device is ≈850%
(Figure S18, Supporting Information).
We also demonstrated the stability of strain responsive-
ness of the gel. The system based on ionically conductive
88-PMMA-r-PBA gels well-maintained the initial amplitude
of resistance change even after ≈13 000 stretching/releasing
cycles at ε ≈ 100% (Figure 3d). For example, the maximum
ΔR/R0 contrasts of the 1st and 13 000th cycle were ≈268% and
≈271%, respectively. This uniform performance also supports
no leakage from the gel during the test (see also Figure S19,
Supporting Information). In contrast to hydrogel-based sys-
tems, which suffer from drying that causes uneven device per-
formance,[41] another remarkable characteristic of ion gels in
this work is nonvolatility. The resistance variation at ε ≈ 100%
was tracked in ambient conditions without extra sealing
(Figure 3e), and no noticeable deterioration of device perfor-
mance was detected over 10 d. The performance of PMMA-r-
PBA-based highly deformable ion gels was compared to those
of previously reported various systems including electrical and
ionic (both hydrogel-based volatile and ionic liquid-based non-
volatile) systems, in terms of two crucial metrics for stretchable
strain sensors, gauge factor and available strain limit (Figure 3f
and Table S1, Supporting Information). We comment that
the most electrical strain sensors indicated higher gauge fac-
tors but their deformability was relatively poorer, compared to
ionic sensory platforms.[22,32,34,64–68] A few ionic strain sensors
based on hydrogels exhibited relatively larger gauge factors
and wider deformation ranges, whereas their drying problem
in an open environment significantly limits practical applica-
tions.[40–42,69–73] In addition, the most reported nonvolatile
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Figure 3. a) Photographs of circuits consisting of 88-PMMA-r-PBA based ion gel and LED in which the change in resistance of the gel upon application
of mechanical strains was observed through the light intensity of the LED. b) Relative resistance changes in accordance with strain. c) Plots of variations
in relative resistance versus strain. The slope of the linear fit corresponds to a gauge factor (GF) of ≈2.73. d) Device response during consecutive ≈13 000
stretching/releasing cyclic operation at ε ≈ 100%. The insets are the initial (left) and last six cycles (right) of the test. e) Long-term operation at ε ≈ 100%
of the 88-PMMA-r-PBA-based gel platform over 10 d in ambient condition without specific encapsulation. The range of ΔR/R0 (y-axis) for each figure
was fixed at 0–250%. f) Comparison of gauge factor and applicable strain limit of this work with previously reported electrical and ionic strain sensors.
Squares and circles correspond to the hydrogel-based volatile and ionic liquid-based nonvolatile ionic platforms, respectively, and triangles indicate
electrical sensory systems. The ionic platform based on nonvolatile ion gels (this work) is designated by an asterisk. The inset corresponds to an
enlarged plot of the ionic system regime.

stretchable sensors involving ionic liquids are not convenient
to fabricate wearable devices because the containers for ionic
liquids were required.[47–49] Therefore, considering the overall
performance and unique characteristics, PMMA-r-PBA-based
ion gels in this work are a promising candidate for realizing
wearable sensory systems.
2.4. Demonstration of “Ionoskins” for Human
Motion Monitoring
In addition to excellent features such as nonvolatility, excellent
stretchability, strong elongation durability, and high opera-
tional stability and sensitivity, the gel was highly transparent

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at a wide range of wavelengths (Figure S20, Supporting Infor-
mation) and had little heterogeneity when applied to the skin.
Therefore, we employed the gel films for skin-type strain sen-
sors, referred to as “ionoskins.” We attached ionoskins to four
representative body parts, the finger, elbow, ankle, and knee,
to demonstrate their potential as human motion sensing
platforms (Figure 4a). We tested bending motion detection
with various frequencies and angular changes of a finger
(Figure 4b). The bending behavior of the finger was distinctly
monitored irrespective of bending speed, which is attributed
to the fast responsiveness of the gel to applied strains. In addi-
tion, each finger motion, such as 0°, 45°, and 90° bending,
could be distinguished with a larger increase in resist-
ance of the ionoskin at a higher bending angle (i.e., under a
larger strain). Much larger strains induced by bending of the
elbow were also tracked from variation in relative resistance
(Figure 4c). Detection of motions in different intervals was
successfully achieved using the ionoskin platform. Figure 4d
shows transient changes in relative resistance originating
from three different motions (namely, squatting, jumping, and
landing) of the knee. As a person squatted, the resistance of
ionoskin remained high. When a human jumped up, the knee
straightened to its original state, and the low resistance was
recovered. Peak relative resistance was measured as the knee
was instantaneously bent again when landed (Figure 4d).
The motion of the ankle was also monitored. For example,
whenever a human walked (either quickly or slowly) or
stopped, all movements were clearly captured based on the var-
iation in relative resistance induced by elongation/restoration
of the ionoskin (Figure 4e).

Figure 4. a) Schematic illustration of practical application of ionoskin. The insets display photographs of devices applied to finger, elbow, ankle, and
knee. Relative resistance changes of the ionoskin adhered to the b) finger, c) elbow, d) knee, and e) ankle for which various movements were success-
fully monitored.

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3. Conclusion
In summary, we proposed a nonvolatile, transparent, ultras-
tretchable gel-type ionic conductor consisting of polymer
gelators and ionic liquids for human motion sensors. The
molecular design principle of polymer gelators for highly
deformable gels includes co-polymerization of PMMA with
IL-insoluble, low-Tg polymers such as PBA. The gels containing
40 wt% of 88-PMMA-r-PBA were optimal in terms of good
stretchability (up to ≈850%) and elongation/restoration cyclic
durability. The resulting deformable gels were exploited in wear-
able strain sensors for which in situ variation of relative resist-
ance with applied strains was recorded. The remarkable features
of the PMMA-r-PBA gel-based sensory platform, referred to
as ionic skins, lie in 1) very convenient fabrication through a
simple connection between the gel film and two electrodes,
2) nonvolatility even in open environments without encapsula-
tion, in contrast to hydrogel-based systems, 3) a wide strain detec-
tion range (≈850%) with a gauge factor of ≈2.72, 4) high stability
(>13 000 stretching/releasing cycles), and 5) optical transparency
(transmittance > 98.5%) with no significant heterogeneity when
applied to the skin. The ionoskin in this work renders the oppor-
tunity to achieve wearable ubiquitous electronics such as human
motion detectors, health care devices, and smart textile systems.
4. Experimental Section
Materials: All chemicals were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich, except for
ethyl methacrylate (>99.0%, Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd., Korea) and
[Li][TFSI] (3M Company). The 2,2′-azobisisbutyronitrile (AIBN) was purified
by recrystallization from a methanol solution. A room temperature ionic
liquid [EMI][TFSI] was prepared by an anodic exchange reaction between
1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([EMI][Br]) (25 g, 0.13 mol) and
excess [Li][TFSI] (45 g, 0.16 mol) in deionized (DI) water (350 mL)
Synthetic Routes for Used Polymers: PMMA-r-PBA and other
homopolymers used in this work were prepared via one-pot reversible
addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization with a
RAFT agent of ethyl 2-(phenylcarbonothioylthio)-2-phenylacetate. A brief
synthetic procedure for 88-PMMA-r-PBA is as follows. Both monomers
(i.e., MMA and BA) were purified by passing through a basic alumina-
filled column. Then, methyl methacrylate (36.58 g, 365.4 mmol), butyl
acrylate (11.71 g, 91.35 mmol), benzodithioate (4.8 mg, 0.015 mmol),
and AIBN (0.0005 g, 0.00304 mmol) were introduced into a dried
two-neck flask. The reaction mixture was purged with Ar gas at room
temperature for 1 h. Then, the polymerization was conducted at 80 °C
for 15 h, followed by quenching with liquid nitrogen for termination.
The resulting solution was poured into a large amount of methanol
for precipitation. The 88-PMMA-r-PBA was filtered, collected, and dried
at 60 °C in a vacuum. This precipitation process was conducted three
times for further purification. The adjustment of MMA mole fraction of
PMMA-r-PBA was achieved by controlling the feed ratio of monomer
mixtures. The other homopolymers were synthesized similarly.
Preparation and Characterization of Ionoskins: To prepare ionoskins,
the synthesized 88-PMMA-r-PBA and ionic liquid [EMI][TFSI] in a
4:6 weight ratio were dissolved in 20 wt% of tetrahydrofuran (THF) as a
cosolvent. Homogeneously mixed solution was poured into rectangular-
shaped templates (thickness: 3 mm, width: 10 mm, and length:
30 mm), followed by full drying under 60 °C in a vacuum, resulting in
transparent gels. The changes in ΔR/R0 of ionoskins in accordance with
applied strains were recorded on a source meter (2400, Keithley, USA).
To investigate the feasibility as a wearable strain sensor, the ionoskins
were attached to the body parts of a volunteer who participated in the
experiment with fully informed consent.
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Supporting Information
Supporting Information is available from the Wiley Online Library or
from the author.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of
Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-
2019R1C1C1002435). The authors thank Dr. Hyungju Ahn for assistance
and helpful discussion on SAXS experiments (9A beamline, Pohang
Accelerator Laboratory (PAL) (Korea)).
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Keywords
copolymer gelator, human motion detection, ionic strain sensory
platform, soft electronics, ultrastretchable gel
Received: September 4, 2019
Revised: October 11, 2019
Published online: November 20, 2019
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