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Updated: May 13, 2025

Controlled Strain of 3D Hydrogels under Live Microscopy Imaging
Published on: December 4, 2020
Super-stretchable, freezing-resistant and self-powered organohydrogels for extreme environment-adaptable
Xiaoyan He1, Penggai Ma1, Shuo Ma1
1Key Laboratory of Water Security and Water Environment Protection in Plateau Intersection, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Bioelectrochemistry and Environmental Analysis of Gansu Province, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China. hexy09@163.com.
Abstract:
The rapid development of wearable sensors has indeed driven the demand for multifunctional conductive soft materials to new heights. However, conventional flexible strain sensors find it difficult to adapt to complex environments due to their poor mechanical properties, susceptibility to freezing deactivation at low temperatures and insufficient long-term stability. In this study, acrylamide (AAm), [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (DMAPS), and octadecyl acrylate (SA) were copolymerized in a glycerol/water system by one-step photopolymerization, and PEDOT : PSS was introduced to construct a super-stretching antifreeze amphiphilic ion hydrogel (HADP). Its synergistic network, comprising hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and high entanglement, endows it with exceptional properties: a tensile strength of 230 kPa, a strain at break of 5295%, a fracture toughness of 64 MJ m-3, and the ability to retain 3344.5% strain and 194.73 kPa strength even after 7 days of storage at -20 °C. Based on high sensitivity (GF = 4.55), a wide detection range (5-500% strain) and a fast response of 0.19 s, HADP can accurately monitor movements such as joint bending and swallowing and realize encrypted information transmission via Morse code. This study provides a paradigm of high-performance materials and multifunctional integrated design for wearable electronics in complex environments.

