Ionogels show properties similar to rubber and cartilage

“Materials that can be deformed, but that are difficult to break or tear, are desirable,” said Michael Dickey, co-corresponding author of a paper on the work and the Camille & Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State. “Nature is good at this; think of cartilage as an example. But engineering synthetic materials with these properties has been difficult, which makes our work here exciting.”

The new materials are ionogels, which are polymer networks that contain salts (ionic liquids) that are liquid at room temperature.

Dickey and his collaborators have made ionogels that are nearly 70 per cent liquid but are claimed to have remarkable mechanical properties; they dissipate a lot of energy when deformed which makes them very difficult to break. They’re also easy to make, easy to process, and can be 3D printed.