Kinetically Controlled Metal–Elastomer Nanophases for Environmentally Resilient Stretchable Electronics

Abstract

Abstract Nanophase mixtures, leveraging the complementary strengths of each component, are vital for composites to overcome limitations posed by single elemental materials. Among these, metal-elastomer nanophases are particularly important, holding various practical applications for stretchable electronics. However, the methodology and understanding of nanophase mixing metals and elastomers are extremely limited due to difficulties in blending caused by thermodynamic incompatibility. Here, we present a controlled method using kinetics to mix Au atoms with dimethylsiloxane chains on the nanoscale. We found that the chain migration flux and metal deposition rate are key factors, allowing the formation of reticular nanophases when kinetically in-phase. Moreover, we observed spontaneous structural evolution, resulting in gyrified structures akin to the human brain. The hybridized gyrified reticular nanophases exhibit strain-invariant metallic electrical conductivity up to 156% areal strain, unparalleled durability in organic solvents and aqueous environments with pH 2–13, and remarkable mechanical robustness, ideal for environmentally resilient devices.