Cation-π Interactions Based Conductive Hydrogels with Slide-Ring Structure Toward Super Long-Time in-air/Underwater...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Conductive hydrogels (CHs) are crucial for flexible wearable sensors.
• Stable underwater application of CHs remains a significant challenge.
• Existing CHs often lack integrated properties like water retention, anti-swelling, and long-term durability for aquatic use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop conductive hydrogels with enhanced stability and integrated properties for underwater wearable sensor applications.
• To address the limitations of current CHs in aquatic environments by improving water retention, anti-swelling, toughness, and adhesiveness.
• To demonstrate the potential of these novel CHs in detecting underwater human motions and transmitting information.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized CHs using cationic and aromatic monomers with polyrotaxanes-based crosslinkers.
• Utilized intermolecular cation-π interactions and slide-ring-based polyrotaxanes for crosslinking.
• Evaluated mechanical performance, adhesive nature, anti-swelling properties, and long-term stability (240 days).
• Tested the CHs for linear GF sensing of land/underwater human motions and as Morse code signal transmitters.

Main Results:

• The developed CHs exhibit excellent mechanical performance, strong adhesion, and resistance to swelling.
• The slide-ring-based topological architecture effectively mitigates stress concentration, enhancing toughness.
• CHs maintained functionality for over 240 days in direct placement at room temperature.
• Demonstrated linear sensitivity in detecting both land and underwater human motions.
• Successfully functioned as Morse code signal transmitters for information transmission.

Conclusions:

• The novel conductive hydrogels possess superior integrated properties for stable underwater applications.
• These CHs overcome previous limitations, offering a promising platform for advanced underwater wearable sensors.
• The developed materials show significant potential for broad applications in aquatic human motion detection and underwater communication.