Touch-responsive ionogels: Combining high-adhesion strength with protective fabric coatings

In nature, organisms such as snails exhibit stimulus-responsive adhesion mechanisms. The development of smart materials that can respond through changes holds great promise for advanced protection systems, as these materials offer promising pathways to achieving on-demand mechanical adaptation and switchable adhesion. In this study, we designed a biomimetic phase-change ionogel, PABAc (PAM/[BMIM]Cl/NaAc), by integrating supersaturated sodium acetate (NaAc), polyacrylamide (PAM) network and the ionic liquid [BMIM]Cl. The ionogel exhibits a touch-activated stiffening response through reversible crystallization–melting transitions, achieving high stretchability and excellent adhesion. The material holds great promise for applications in information encryption, self-sensing textiles, and protective coatings against thermal and mechanical damage.