d-gluconic acetal gelator-based supramolecular – Polymer dual network eutectogels for high performance temperature, strain, and pressure sensors

Eutectogel-based soft materials demonstrate great potential for application in the field of wearable devices. However, the development of multifunctional eutectogel materials as versatile sensors for wearable devices with excellent stretchability, self-healing, stability over a wide temperature range, and adhesion remains a challenge. In this study, we construct a novel dual-network (DN) eutectogel comprising a d-gluconic acetal-based supramolecular network and a polymer network in a deep eutectic solvent. The DN eutectogel exhibited excellent comprehensive properties, such as remarkable stretchability (elongation at break over 4300 %, tensile fracture strain of 0.21 MPa), self-recovery and fatigue resistance, rapid self-healing, outstanding stability over a wide range of temperatures (−20–100 ℃), robust adhesion, and good conductivity. Based on these comprehensive properties and thermosensitive capacity, a temperature sensor based on the DN eutectogel was developed with a high sensitivity of 8.1–65.0 % °C−1. In addition, wearable strain and pressure sensors based on this eutectogel with high sensitivity, wide monitoring range, and excellent stability were fabricated for precise real-time monitoring of human activities. This study paves the way for the design of multifunctional wearable devices in the future.