journal article·2026-06-24Open access

Strain‐Adaptive Dielectric Metamaterials via Bioinspired “Ligament‐Bone” Architecture for Ultrahigh‐Energy Capacitive Storage

Jian Wang, Xinyu Wang, Jiabao Wang, Biyun Peng, Yifei Zhang, Ning Zhu, Xin Hu

Abstract

ABSTRACT Polymer dielectrics for capacitive energy storage face fundamental trade‐offs between breakdown strength, energy density, efficiency, and mechanical robustness. Herein, we break this paradigm by designing a bioinspired strain‐adaptive dielectric metamaterial with a multiscale “ligament‐bone” architecture. The “ligament” phase epoxy‐functionalized polyvinylidene fluoride‐based polymer provides dynamic constraints to suppress ferroelectric loss, while the “bone” units, alumina‐coated barium titanate nanocores (Al 2 O 3 @BaTiO 3 ), engineered with a strain‐responsive “periosteum” shell, mitigate interfacial distortion and carrier migration. This hierarchical design synergistically enables unprecedented electro‐mechanical properties: a record‐high energy density of 26.1 J cm −3 with 90.2% efficiency at 600 MV m −1 , coupled with a Young's modulus of 2.13 GPa. Operando characterizations and multiscale simulations reveal that strain‐adaptive reconfiguration of polymer chains and core‐shell interfaces dynamically optimizes field/charge distribution under extreme conditions. This biomimetic strategy establishes a universal framework for designing next‐generation dielectrics for extreme‐condition electronics.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Dielectric materials and actuators · Ferroelectric and Piezoelectric Materials · Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Ningxia Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Materials School of Materials and New Energy Ningxia University Yinchuan China

College of Materials Science and Engineering Jiangsu National Synergetic Innovation Center for Advanced Materials Nanjing Tech University Nanjing China

Chemistry Department University of Alberta Edmonton Canada

College of Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Engineering State Key Laboratory of Materials‐Oriented Chemical Engineering Nanjing Tech University Nanjing Jiangsu China

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China · Key Research and Development Program of Ningxia

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