Sliding Cyclodextrin Molecules along Polymer Chains to Enhance the Stretchability of Conductive Composites

Abstract The demand for stretchable electronics with a broader working range is increasing for wide application in wearable sensors and e‐skin. However, stretchable conductors based on soft elastomers always exhibit low working range due to the inhomogeneous breakage of the conductive network when stretched. Here, a highly stretchable and self‐healable conductor is reported by adopting polyrotaxane and disulfide bonds into the binding layer. The binding layer (PR‐SS) builds the bridge between polymer substrates (PU‐SS) and silver nanowires (AgNWs). The incorporation of sliding molecules endows the stretchable conductor with a long sensing range (190%) due to the energy dissipation derived from the sliding nature of polyrotaxanes, which is two times higher than the working range (93%) of conductors based on AP‐SS without polyrotaxanes. Furthermore, the mechanism of sliding effect for the polyrotaxanes in the elastomers is investigated by SEM for morphological change of AgNWs, in situ small‐angle x‐ray scattering, as well as stress relaxation experiments. Finally, human‐body‐related sensing tests and a self‐correction system in fitness are designed and demonstrated.