Somatosensory network-sensitive ionic currents, responding to tactile biosignals, serve as behavioral modulation for electromechanical transduction. Building on these biological principles, here we show mechanically robust, conductive piezoionic eutectogels with hierarchical structure enabling continuous pressure-driven ion migration, effectively transducing pressure into ionic streaming. This electromechanical coupling originates from pressure-sensitive differences in cationic and anionic mobility, producing net streaming potentials. The piezoionic eutectogels, reaching sensitive, continuous response of ~200 s to innocuous force, governed by the engagement of both pronounced mechanosensitivity under applied pressure and ion inactivation kinetics upon releasing. The piezoionic mechanism is attributed to hierarchically orientated ion-steaming and charge compensation mechanism, dynamically regulating ion transmission. This ion streaming-driven piezovoltage depends on pressure magnitude, pressure duration and mechanical environments, achieving continuous peak piezovoltage up to 40 mV at 3.0 MPa. This work provides synergistic molecular-structural design towards piezoionic dynamics and mechanical performances, offering insights into next-generation piezoionics.
Xu et al. (2025) studied this question.