DIW 3D Printing Aligned Catkins to Access Significant Enhanced Responsive Ionogel

Although stimuli-responsive gels have received significant attention due to
their flexible structure and high tolerance to various stimuli, the high solvent
content leads to relatively low mechanical properties and instability in
performance due to water evaporation. This limits their application to some
extent. Here, catkins enhanced ionogel is crafted that prevents solvent
vaporization-induced properties from abating yet remains humidity
responsiveness. By using direct ink writing (DIW) 3D printing, the catkins can
be aligned within the ionogel, resulting in a significant increase in ionic
conductivity (0.17 S·cm−1)and mechanical properties (4.75 times). Moreover,
the environment stability (−50–150 °C) and hygroscopicity of the ionic liquid
(IL) allow the 3D-printed composite to perform a controllable lubrication
behavior in response to changes in humidity and temperature. This work
demonstrates the significant enhancement of responsive ionogels through
DIW 3D printing with aligned catkins and presents a new strategy for
achieving the lubricating regulation.