Alginate fiber toughened gels similar to skin intelligence as ionic sensors

The stretchable hydrogels provide potential alternatives to bionic skins. However, skin simulation remains seriously challenging due to its complex nature, including mechanical property, protective effect, and sensory capability. Herein, conductive gels toughened by sodium alginate fibers in oil-water system were developed for preparation of skin-like ionic sensors. The dynamic network was constructed by polyvinyl alcohol and sodium alginate fibers, providing a wide scope of mechanical properties, such as high toughness, anti-fatigue fracture and remodelability. Moreover, salts imparted good conductivity to gels. As a result, gels exhibited sensory capability toward stress and strain, so they were considered sensors to monitor various movements of human body. In particular, gels demonstrated temperture tolerance ranging from -20 °C to 40 °C and non-drying for 6 days at 25 °C. In this study, gels showed complex intelligence similar to natural skin, and might find applications in artificial intelligence, human-mechanial interactions, and smart wearable devices.