Volumetric 3D printing of ionic conductive elastomers for multifunctional flexible electronics

Flexible electronics based on ionic conductive elastomers (ICE) hold significant potential for applications in smart wearables, self-powered sensing, and human-computer interaction. However, current fabrication techniques constrain ICE-based ionic electronic components to simplified volumetric geometries, limiting their functionality. This work reports a volumetric 3D printing (V3DP) for fabricating flexible electronic components with excessive transparency, high conductivity, excellent thermal stability, and superior adhesion. By controlling the light dose, this printing technique enables precise modulation of the printed structures' mechanical properties. Furthermore, V3DP greatly improves the processing efficiency of high-viscosity ionic conductive liquids and makes it easier to prepare composite structures, combining different conductive mechanisms through unique overprinting. This study provides a promising strategy for preparing multifunctional, liquid-free, ionic flexible electronics, such as strain sensors and ionic-electronic triboelectric nanogenerators (iTENG).