Highly robust ion gels, termed double-network (DN) ion gels, composed of inorganic/organic interpenetrating networks and a large amount of ionic liquids (ILs), are fabricated. The DN ion gels with an 80 wt% IL content show extraordinarily high mechanical strength: more than 28 MPa of compressive fracture stress. In the DN ion gel preparation, a brittle inorganic network of physically bonded silica nanoparticles and a ductile organic network of polydimethylacrylamide (PDMAAm) are formed in the IL. Because of the different reaction mechanisms of the inorganic/organic networks, the DN ion gels can be formed by an easy and free-shapeable one-pot synthesis. They can be prepared in a controllable manner by manipulating the formation order of the inorganic and organic networks via not only multistep but also single-step processes. When silica particles form a network prior to the PDMAAm network formation, DN ion gels can be prepared. The brittle silica particle network in the DN ion gel, serving as sacrificial bonds, easily ruptures under loading to dissipate energy, while the ductile PDMAAm network maintains the shape of the material by the rubber elasticity. Given the reversible physical bonding between the silica particles, the DN ion gels exhibit a significant degree of self-recovery by annealing.
Keywords: double network; inorganic/organic composites; ionic liquids; robust gels; selective network formation.
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