Highly Stretchable, Adhesive, and Conductive PEDOT Nanocomposite Hydrogels for High-Performance Flexible...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biomedical Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Conductive hydrogels are promising for bioelectronics due to biocompatibility and skin-like properties.
• Limitations include poor adhesion, low conductivity, and hydrophobicity of fillers, hindering functionality.
• Existing materials like PEDOT:PSS face challenges in achieving integrated performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel strategy for fabricating multifunctional nanofillers for conductive hydrogels.
• To enhance hydrogel properties such as adhesion, conductivity, and stretchability.
• To create advanced soft bioelectronic materials for improved electrophysiological signal acquisition.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of conductive and water-soluble nanofillers using tannic-acid-modified MXene as a template.
• In situ polymerization of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) on the modified MXene template.
• Characterization of PEDOT composite nanosheets and their performance as hydrogel fillers.

Main Results:

• Tannic acid modification improved hydrophilicity and dispersibility of MXene.
• PEDOT composite nanosheets exhibited high intrinsic conductivity (385 S·m⁻¹).
• Resulting hydrogels achieved excellent stretchability (>800%), strong tissue adhesion (≈22 kPa), and high conductivity (≈125 S∙m⁻¹).

Conclusions:

• The developed strategy effectively created multifunctional nanofillers for advanced conductive hydrogels.
• The new hydrogels demonstrate superior integrated performance compared to conventional PEDOT:PSS hydrogels.
• This approach offers a promising platform for developing next-generation soft bioelectronic materials and applications.