Harnessing ionic complexity: A modeling approach for hierarchical ionic circuit design

Abstract

Soft ionic circuitry promises to create soft control systems and active materials that can sense, assess information, and respond to their environment. This complex behavior is enabled by charged polymers that act as ionic semiconductors, but their widespread use is inhibited by a lack of suitable design tools. The authors develop a lumped-element model that incorporates key effects and enables the design and analysis of large-scale ionic systems. Their tool illuminates the performance and limits of existing devices, and principles for designing a fully ionic soft-robot control system. This model will enable the field of ionics to move from building single devices to whole systems.