Fig. 3: Characterization of the self-healing ability and strain sensitivity of E-GES.

a Stress-strain curves of pristine (green) and self-healed (red) 5% E-GES samples. In the self-healing process, two fresh cut-off E-GES pieces are simply placed in contact with each other without using other assistance methods, and the reshaped E-GES almost recovers its original Young’s modulus in 1 min. b Raman spectra of different E-GES samples. The Tyr doublet peaks appear at 861 cm⁻¹ and 837 cm⁻¹. c Schematic illustration of the proposed self-healing mechanism of the E-GES network. The green E-GES network represents a self-healing transition state, arising from the formation of various dynamic chemical bonds, including EGaIn-SH coordinative bonds, noncovalent H-bonds and dynamic S-S covalent bonds, in the contacting cut interfaces. d, e Photographs of E-GES connected to an LED bulb in different situations. There is liquid nitrogen in the plastic container (e). f Stretching-releasing cycle with a strain of 100%. g Successive stretching-releasing cycles with strain increasing from 200% to 600%. h Resistance changes of E-GES after healing from complete cutting.