Fig. 1: Ultrasoft and fast self-healing poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) electrode for dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs).

a Schematic illustration of unconformable actuation by DEAs with rigid or non-healing electrodes, where rigid electrodes constrain the deformation of dielectric elastomer (DE) layers, and non-healing electrodes stop working with damage, resulting in low actuation strains. b Conformable actuation achieved by DEA with ultrasoft and fast self-healing electrode, which leads to a higher actuation strain and readily recoverable DEAs. c Schematic illustration of the chemical structure of PIL electrode, the size of the counterions relative to polycations influence the elastic modulus and self-healing speed of PILs.