Self-healable and Robust Silicone Elastomer for Ultrasensitive Flexible Sensors

Capturing human motions using wearable electronics provides tremendous opportunities for human–machine interfaces. However, current flexible sensors are always challenged due to the contradiction between the self-healing property and mechanical performance of the flexible matrix. Moreover, the strain sensing range of current sensors is always limited within 5% due to the ineffectiveness of conductive components upon larger strain. Inspired by the synergistic combination of hydrogen bondings and metal coordination, a self-healable elastomer was synthesized, which displayed a tensile strength of 1.73 MPa and a self-healing efficiency of 93%. Moreover, the designed flexible sensor using a synthesized silicone elastomer substrate and a carbon nanotube conductive component displayed a high gauge factor of 1198 contributed by the cooperation of the wrinkle structure and the microcrack mechanism. The flexible sensors exhibited a fast response of 129 ms due to the excellent adhesion of the conductive layer upon the substrate. Furthermore, a wearable intelligent gesture capturing system integrating an elastomer-based sensor and a wireless electronic control module was successfully developed to realize the real-time monitoring of hand gestures. Thus, the developed silicone elastomer-based sensor holds high potential for human–machine interfaces and provides a novel pathway for hand rehabilitation training.