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Updated: Jul 14, 2025
Four-Dimensional Printing of Stimuli-Responsive Hydrogel-Based Soft Robots
Published on: January 13, 2023
3D printable, stretchable, anti-freezing and rapid self-healing organogel-based sensors for human motion detection
Juan Zhang1, Yanen Wang1, Qinghua Wei1
1Industry Engineering Department, School of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China; Bio-Additive Manufacturing University-Enterprise Joint Research Center of Shaanxi Province, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
Abstract:
Self-healing hydrogels have promising applications in sensors and wearable devices. However, self-healing hydrogels prepared with water as the dispersion medium inevitably freeze at sub-zero temperature, resulting in a loss of the self-healing and sensing ability. The black phosphorene / ethylene glycol / polyvinyl alcohol / sodium tetraborate / sodium alginate (BP/EG-SPB) organogels were prepared by 3D printing technology and solvent displacement method. The organogel exhibits high stretchability (1900 % strain), excellent self-healing property (25 s) and outstanding anti-freezing property (lower than -120 °C freezing point). Furthermore, the organogel can rapidly self-healed (150 s) at a low temperature (-80 °C) without any external stimulation. Additionally, this organogel-based flexible sensor possesses excellent sensitivity (gauge factor: 28.66 at 1900 % strain) and fast response capability, allowing for effective detection of human motion. This work provides a novel method for preparing multifunctional organogel-based sensors for use in harsh climates.
