INS5-1043
Ionic Liquids as Molecular Design Tools for Soft Electronics and Light-Emitting Devices
When and Where
Sep 29, 2026
11:40 - 12:05
Presenter(s)
Yu Jun Tan (National University of Singapore)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
Ionic liquids are widely used in soft electronics because of their high ionic conductivity, negligible volatility, thermal stability, and broad electrochemical windows. However, beyond serving as passive charge carriers, ionic liquids can function as molecular design elements that regulate polymer-ion interactions, mechanical dissipation, self-healing, interfacial charge transport, and electrochemical reactivity. In this talk, I will discuss how the rational selection of ionic liquids provides a versatile strategy for designing high-performance ionogels, soft electronic materials, and light-emitting devices. I will highlight three recent studies from our group that illustrate this concept across materials, sensing, and optoelectronic systems. First, we developed self-healing and hyperelastic magneto-iono-elastomers, in which magnetic ionic liquids act simultaneously as conductive media, magnetic functional components, and dynamic dissipative phases within an elastomeric network. This study shows that ionic liquids can introduce multifunctionality into soft materials beyond ionic conduction alone. Second, we demonstrated a self-healing magnetoelectric sensory system for underwater soft electronics, where a healable ionic matrix enables self-powered tactile sensing, proximity detection, damage sensing, and autonomous functional recovery in wet environments. This work highlights the importance of ionic-liquid-containing soft matrices for robust device operation under mechanically and environmentally demanding conditions. Third, we investigated ionic-liquid-regulated electrochemiluminescent devices, showing that ion identity can control interfacial charge-transfer dynamics, electrochemical stability, and light-emission efficiency. By coupling an optimized ionic liquid with an asymmetric device architecture, ultrabright electrochemiluminescence can be achieved at low voltage, enabling flexible multicolor devices, dynamic visual sensing, digital displays, and underwater solid-state light-emitting systems. In general, this ionic liquids as design tools approach provides a general framework for soft sensors, robotic skins, underwater electronics, self-healing systems, ionotronic devices, and light-emitting platforms.
