Facile preparation of self-healing, adhesive and patterned gels via frontal polymerization for wearable sensing and actuating applications

Flexible intelligent gel has garnered great research attention for its potential artificial intelligence applications. Herein, a facile method is provided for fabricating patterned gel materials with self-healing, adhesive, and responsive properties via frontal polymerization within 10 min. The resulting gels are able to self-repair spontaneously after damaged, and exhibit the highest self-healing efficiency (∼99 %) benefiting from the synergistic effect of hydrogen-bond and host–guest assemblies. Moreover, the adhesive gels display satisfactory mechanical properties with great stretchability (524 %), tensile strength (200 kPa) and flexibility. With these features, the gels are served as flexible wearable sensors which can detect a series of movements such as stretch, bend and touch. Furthermore, the dual-component gels are prepared by the metal–ligand interaction (Fe 3+ -carboxyl group) on the one side of the gel films. The gradient structure and swelling ability endow the gel with actuating behaviors. This research explores a convenient approach to construct functional patterned gels towards significant applications in the wearable sensor and actuator fields.