S. Song,G. Xu,B. Wang,D. Liu,Z. Ren,J. Gu,H. Wei,L. Zhang,J. Zhao,Y. Li
Effective infrared (IR) modulation is crucial for engineered technologies, such as energy-efficient buildings, personal thermal management, multiple electronic instruments, adaptive thermal camouflage and smart thermoregulation. The static control occupies most portion in the past, to explore the materials that could dynamically modulate IR irradiation has emerged as an urgent scientific challenge. Drawing inspiration from squid skin, a dynamic IR modulator (Au-SEBS membrane) consisting of IR-reflective metal layer and IR-transparent elastomer matrix has been developed. Under a simple mechanical strain, the IR optical performance of Au-SEBS membrane including reflectance, transmittance, and absorptance alters, which is attributed to the generating microcracks at the metal layer. The results demonstrate that the reflectance varies from 97% to 37%, whereas 3%–51% for transmittance and 0%–12% for absorptance at the wavelength range of 2.5–25 μm. Additionally, the Au-SEBS membrane exhibits a distinctive thermal-healed ability due to the thermoplastic elastomer characteristic of SEBS copolymer . The material features a simple actuation mechanism, straightforward manipulate, fast response, and robust mechanical properties , which exhibits a promising potential for adaptive thermal camouflage, thermal management, and other related technologies that regulate the IR irradiation.
Zhehao Tang,Xiaolin Lyu,Anqi Xiao,Zhihao Shen,Xinghe Fan
A tough double-network (DN) ion gel composed of chemically cross-linked poly(furfuryl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) (P(FMA-co-MMA)) and physically cross-linked poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (P(VDF-co-HFP)) networks with 80 wt % of ionic liquid (IL) was fabricated via a one-pot method. This ion gel exhibits excellent mechanical strength and considerable ionic conductivity, which can be used as a solid gel electrolyte. Upon an adjustment of the weight ratio of P(FMA-co-MMA) to P(VDF-co-HFP) and the content of the cross-linker, remarkably robust DN ion gel (failure tensile stress 660 kPa, strain 268%; failure compressive stress 17 MPa, strain 85%) was obtained. The high mechanical strength is attributed to the chemical/physical interpenetrating networks. The rigid chemically cross-linked P(FMA-co-MMA) network dissipates most of the loading energy, and the ductile physically cross-linked P(VDF-co-HFP) network provides stretchability for the whole gel. More importantly, the P(FMA-co-MMA) network is formed by dynamic covalent bonds that can undergo a thermally reversible reaction, giving the gel a unique and effective thermal healing capability. Furthermore, with the high content of IL, the DN ion gel possesses a high ionic conductivity of 3.3 mS cm–1 at room temperature, which is higher than those of most solid polymer electrolytes and comparable to those of commercial organic liquid electrolytes.