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Highly Sensitive and Robust Polysaccharide-Based Composite Hydrogel Sensor Integrated with Underwater Repeatable
Qiangjun Ling1,2, Wentao Liu1,2, Jiachang Liu1,2
1Key Laboratory of Leather Chemistry and Engineering of Ministry of Education, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|May 17, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed a new hydrogel strain sensor that is tough, conductive, and adheres underwater. This advanced material offers self-healing capabilities, enabling sensitive detection of human motion even in wet conditions.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biomedical Engineering
- Polymer Chemistry
Background:
- Hydrogel-based strain sensors are crucial for wearable electronics and human motion detection.
- Integrating underwater adhesion and self-healing into hydrogel sensors presents significant challenges.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a multifunctional hydrogel sensor with enhanced stretchability, sensitivity, underwater adhesion, and self-healing properties.
- To explore the potential of polysaccharide-based dual-network hydrogels for advanced sensing applications.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of a dual-network hydrogel using dialdehyde carboxymethyl cellulose (DCMC), chitosan (CS), poly(acrylic acid) (PAA), and aluminum ions (Al3+).
- Characterization of the hydrogel's mechanical strength, conductivity, sensitivity (gauge factor), underwater adhesion, and self-healing capabilities.
- Evaluation of the hydrogel strain sensor's performance in detecting human motion both in air and underwater.
Main Results:
- The DCMC/CS/PAA (DCP) hydrogel exhibited robust mechanical properties, high conductivity (2.6 S/m), and a gauge factor of 15.56.
- The hydrogel demonstrated excellent underwater adhesion to biological tissues and rapid self-healing (>90% in <10 min).
- The DCP hydrogel strain sensor effectively monitored various human motions, including finger bending and wrist pulse, even underwater.
Conclusions:
- A novel polysaccharide-based dual-network hydrogel sensor was successfully synthesized, integrating key functionalities for advanced applications.
- The developed hydrogel sensor shows great promise for wearable electronics and human motion detection, especially in challenging wet and underwater environments.
- This work offers a new strategy for designing high-performance intelligent sensors for diverse applications.
