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Bridging the Bio-Electronic Interface with Biofabrication
Published on: June 6, 2012
Integrated Flexible Supercapacitors Fabricated by Biocompatible Self‑Adhesive Polyacrylamide/Chitosan
Rong Zhang1, Suting Zhou1, Yumeng Wang1
1Energy Storage Institute of Lanzhou University of Technology, School of Green Energy and Energy Storage, State Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing and Recycling of Non‑ferrous Metals, Department of Polymeric Materials Engineering, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, China.
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A self‑adhesive supercapacitor is developed based on a biocompatible hydrogel matrix integrated with poly(3, 4‑ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) as the conductive material. For biomedical devices, achieving stable adhesion to dynamic biological tissues is a key challenge. To address this, an integrated structure is created through the in situ polymerization of poly (3, 4‑ethylenedioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulfonate) on a hydrogel composite composed of polyacrylamide, polydopamine, and quaternary ammonium salt of chitosan. This method eliminates interfacial resistance and enhances mechanical stability. The hydrogel matrix is optimized with 20% acrylamide, and the conductive polymer is polymerized for 36 h, yielding a specific capacitance of 0.67 mF·cm-2 at 0.03 mA·cm-2. The device exhibits strong tissue adhesion with an interfacial toughness of 0.20 kJ·m-2 and a shear strength of 1.5 kPa, resulting from hydrogen bonding, π-π stacking, and electrostatic interactions. A hemolysis rate of 0.35% confirms biocompatibility, while antibacterial properties are provided by the quaternary ammonium salt of chitosan. This work provides a strategy for developing adhesive and biocompatible energy storage components toward future bio‑integrated electronics.
