Cellulose-based elastomer with multiple color-changing and deformation responses for smart bionic prosthetics application

Cellulose elastomer integrates thermochromic, mechanochromic, hydrochromic, and water-deformation. • Rapid thermochromic response within 5 s at 35 °C, near body temperature. • Mechanochromic color change from red to white with 1800% elongation. • Water deformation enables controllable bending and gripping functions. • Multifunctional elastomer shows great promise for robotic electronic skin. Cellulose-based smart materials hold great promise for applications in the field of flexible electronics. Simultaneously realizing multiple stimulus-responsive functionalities while preserving the outstanding mechanical properties of cellulose-based smart materials remains a considerable challenge. High-performance cellulose-based elastomers integrating thermochromic, mechanochromic, hydrochromic, and water deformation capabilities were successfully fabricated through a simple synthetic strategy. Thermochromic response is remarkably rapid, occurring within 5 s at a transition temperature of 35 °C. The response temperature is close to human physiological temperature, and demonstrated excellent reversibility and repeatability. Mechanochromic behavior exhibited a visual color change from red to white upon stretching. Meanwhile, during the mechanochromic process, cellulose-based elastomer achieved an outstanding elongation at break of up to 1800%. Furthermore, water deformation allowed for controllable bending and gripping functions. Given these multifunctional properties, cellulose-based elastomer shows great potential in the field of smart bionic prosthetics, as it could simultaneously perform complex functions such as temperature sensing, joint deformation monitoring, and underwater grasping, thereby providing new design insights for the development of next-generation intelligent biomimetic materials. Download: Download high-res image (453KB) Download: Download full-size image