Researchers in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a self-healing gel that repairs and connects electronic circuits, creating opportunities to advance the creation of flexible electronics, biosensors, and batteries.
Until now, self-healing materials have relied on application of external stimuli such as light or heat to activate repair. The UT Austin “supergel” material has high conductivity and strong mechanical and electrical properties.
The material combines two gels: a self-assembling metal-ligand gel that provides self-healing properties and a polymer hydrogel that is a conductor. The researchers used a disc-shaped liquid crystal molecule to enhance the conductivity, biocompatibility, and permeability of the polymer hydrogel.
Employing terpyridine molecules to create the framework and zinc atoms as a structural glue, the molecules form structures that are able to self-assemble, giving the gel the ability to automatically heal after a break.
