Supramolecular Multiple Stimuli-Responsive Conductive Hydrogel for Flexible Sensing

Self-healing conductive hydrogels have attracted considerable interest in recent research due to their applications in biomedical and electronic fields. The design and preparation of a functional self-healing conductive hydrogel that features multiple stimuli-responsive properties, adhesion, and tunable mechanical characteristics for a wearable electronic sensor is highly anticipated. In this work, we proposed a hydrogel sensor through free radical polymerization by using host molecule acryloyl-β-cyclodextrin (AC-β-CD), guest molecule of acryloyl-1-adamantanamine (AC-AD), N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), and conductive reduced graphene oxide/β-CD (rGO-CD). The chemical and physical structure, conductivity, de-swelling/swelling behavior, photothermal behavior, mechanical performance, adhesive performance, injectable performance, and self-healing performance of the resultant hydrogels were comprehensively investigated. Human motion detection and cytocompatibility test of hydrogel further demonstrated its potential for wearable electronics applications. Overall, this supramolecular conductive hydrogel might open a new sight to develop a multifunctional flexible sensor.