Synergistic supramolecular networks for high-performance damping and efficient electro-thermal energy conversion

Resolving the inherent tradeoff between mechanical energy dissipation and electrothermal energy conversion efficiency in supramolecular conductive materials necessitates the construction of dynamic reversible networks based on ion–host–guest synergistic effects. This study proposed and constructed a dynamic reversible network based on ion–host–guest synergistic effects to resolve the performance tradeoff between efficient mechanical energy dissipation and effective electrothermal energy conversion. Through ion modification, dynamic crosslinking, and in situ composite formation of conductive phases, a series of composite materials was designed and fabricated, and their network structures, dynamic mechanical behavior, and electromechanical-thermal coupling characteristics were systematically investigated. The results show that the fabricated ion–host–guest synergistic modified composite exhibits an effective damping temperature range from −40 to 30 °C and a peak loss factor of 0.85 at a dynamic scanning frequency of 1 Hz. Under a 10 V DC voltage excitation, its steady-state electrothermal conversion efficiency reaches 77.3%. In a conical dielectric elastomer generator configuration with a mechanical excitation frequency of 10 Hz, the energy harvesting efficiency is 66.7%. The comprehensive performance index surpasses that of traditional vulcanized rubber, solely ion-modified systems, and commercial acrylate dielectric elastomer films, achieving synergistic optimization of high damping and high energy conversion. This work provides feasible design strategies and experimental foundations for developing next-generation adaptive materials with both intelligent damping and energy management functions.