Highly conductive and ultrarobust elastic conductors for stretchable electronics
Abstract
Elastic conductors are vital for flexible electronics, but the high filler concentrations conventionally required to achieve metallic conductivity severely degrade mechanical properties. Here, we report a poor solvent–induced interfacial self-assembly strategy to fabricate robust elastic conductors. This approach yields a resilient top polymer domain and a bottom liquid metal (LM) polymer interpenetrating conductive domain. Consequently, the conductors achieve exceptional conductivity (3.33 × 10 6 siemens per meter), extreme stretchability (>1400% strain), and high toughness (>30 megapascals) at a low LM loading (~15% volume proportion). By regulating the self-assembly behavior of LM nanoparticles in elastomers, our method overcomes the traditional trade-off between electrical and mechanical performance. Demonstrating its practical utility, we constructed a wireless stretchable system for monitoring the temperature and motion of living organisms, highlighting its broad applicability in high-performance wearable and implantable electronics.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
Conducting polymers and applications
Dielectric materials and actuators
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Science Advances
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 25
- Pages
- eaee8109–eaee8109
- Publication date
- 19 June 2026
- Language
- EN