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Bimodal Underwater Motion Monitoring Using Room Temperature Phosphorescent Zwitterionic Hydrogels Enabled by
Ruonan Jia1, Jianting Ye1,2, Lihong Shi2
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610072, China.
Nano Letters
|February 26, 2026
Summary
This study introduces zwitterionic hydrogels with room temperature phosphorescent (RTP) visualization for underwater motion monitoring. These hydrogels offer accurate trajectory tracking in challenging aquatic environments.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Flexible Electronics
Background:
- Hydrogels are crucial for intelligent robots due to their mechano-electric properties.
- Accurate underwater motion visualization for intelligent control remains a significant challenge.
- Existing methods struggle with harsh underwater interference.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop zwitterionic hydrogels with integrated perceptual and long-lived room temperature phosphorescent (RTP) visualization capabilities.
- To enable accurate underwater motion monitoring and trajectory tracking.
- To overcome limitations of current technologies in interfering aquatic environments.
Main Methods:
- In situ crystallization of melamine (MA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) using salting-out ion-directed methods.
- Formation of supramolecular MA-SO42- (Supra-MS) nanocrystals within the hydrogel matrix.
- Characterization of hydrogel properties including ionic conductivity, mechanical strength, and RTP emission stability.
Main Results:
- The developed hydrogels exhibit high ionic conductivity (7.7 S/m) and excellent mechanical properties (320% stretchability, 1.1 MJ m-3 toughness).
- The hydrogels demonstrate persistent underwater RTP emission, maintaining stability after 7 days of immersion.
- Supramolecular MA-SO42- nanocrystals provide RGB-based multicolor RTP emission and act as a rigid matrix.
Conclusions:
- Zwitterionic hydrogels with integrated RTP visualization offer a promising solution for underwater motion monitoring.
- The hydrogels enable bimodal real-time tracking of locomotion trajectories and postural dynamics.
- This advancement paves the way for RTP-integrated flexible electronics in underwater applications.
