Citation: Xiaohui Yu, Guanpeng Zhou, Siyan Li, Yuanfeng Wang, Juan Zhang, Xiaotong Fan, Xiaoshan Fan, Jiajia Shen, Hui Ma, Zibiao Li. Strain-gated tactile-to-pain sensing and vectorial mapping with recyclable e-skin[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(10): 112097. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.112097 shu

Strain-gated tactile-to-pain sensing and vectorial mapping with recyclable e-skin

Xiaohui Yu ^{a, b} ,
Guanpeng Zhou ^a ,
Siyan Li ^a ,
Yuanfeng Wang ^a ,
Juan Zhang ^a ,
Xiaotong Fan ^b ,
Xiaoshan Fan ^c ,
Jiajia Shen ^{a, *,} ,
Hui Ma ^{a, *,} ,
Zibiao Li ^{b, d, e, *,}

a.
Center for Collaborative Innovation in Health-Fiber Electronics, College of Material and Textile Engineering, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, China
b.
Institute of Sustainability for Chemicals, Energy and Environment (ISCE2), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore 627833, Republic of Singapore
c.
School of Medicine, Huanghe Science and Technology University, Zhengzhou 450061, China
d.
Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore 138634, Republic of Singapore
e.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117576, Republic of Singapore

jjshen@zjxu.edu.cn

mahui@zjxu.edu.cn

lizb@imre.a-star.edu.sg

Received Date: 9 September 2025
Revised Date: 7 November 2025
Accepted Date: 10 November 2025
Available Online: 11 November 2025

Figures(5)

Realizing biologically authentic tactile–pain sensing in flexible electronic skins (e-skins) requires materials that combine linear touch encoding with strain-gated pain signaling, while also offering spatially resolved stimulus mapping and sustainable recyclability. Here, we present a recyclable neurothreshold-mimetic eutectogel (NeuroThres-Gel) based on a strain-induced percolation threshold modulation strategy. The prepared eutectogel demonstrated shear-thinning rheology, thermoplastic reprocessability, and environmental stability in wide temperature window. Under uniaxial strain, the conductive network remains intact and reversible up to a programmable critical strain (ε_t) of 80%. Beyond this threshold, geometric percolation collapse occurs, resulting in a sharp, nonvolatile resistive transition that mimics neuronal action potential firing and enables strain-gated pain-like signaling. Direct-ink-writing (DIW) of NeuroThres-Gel yielded microstructured sensor arrays with volumetrically distributed receptive fields, achieving spatially resolved, vectorial pain mapping. Critically, after five melt-recycle cycles, the NeuroThres-Gel sensors retained excellent spatial nociceptive perception and stable mechanical strength, highlighting the closed-loop recyclability enabled by the dynamic cross-linked network. Collectively, NeuroThres-Gel integrated programmable tactile-to-pain conversion, directional nociceptive sensing, and sustainable recyclability into a single platform, charting a pathway toward next-generation adaptive prosthetic feedback systems and human–machine interfaces.
- Tactile-pain sensing,
- Flexible electronics,
- Eutectogel,
- e-skin,
- Recyclability
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