Abstract:
Wearable sensors made of flexible and stretchable hydrogels have garnered significant attention. However, their use has been limited by poor mechanical performance, such as poor toughness, poor self-recovery, and large response-recovery time. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a novel crosslinking agent-based hydrogel with high stretchability, high toughness, antifatigue properties, and good conductivity. These hydrogels were developed by introducing L-glutamic acid (LGA) into hydrophobically crosslinked polyacrylamide (PAmm) chains. In this system, LGA dynamically crosslinked the micelle-micelle and micelles-polymer chains, and the incorporation of LGA greatly regulates the mechanical properties of the hydrogels. The noncovalent synergistic interactions that come with the insertion of LGA enable the hydrogels to achieve high stretchability, high stress values, with fast self-recovery and antifatigue behaviors without the help of foreign stimuli. Additionally, LGA-based hydrogels can function as durable and highly sensitive strain sensors for detecting various mechanical deformations, with a fast response-recovery time and high gauge factor value. As a result, the hydrogels have the capability to be designed as wearable strain sensors that are capable of detecting large human joint motions such as neck twisting, neck bending, wrist, finger, and elbow. Similarly, these hydrogels are capable of monitoring different subtle human motions like speaking and differentiating between different words, swallowing, and drinking through larynx vibrations. Besides these large and subtle human motions, hydrogels have the ability to differentiate and reproduce different written words with reliability. These LGA-regulated hydrogels have potential applications in electric skins, medical monitoring, soft robotics, and flexible touch panels.
Page(s):
312-312
DOI:
DOI not available
Published:
Journal: Abstract Book on International Conference on Food and Applied Sciences (ICFAS-23) 3-5 August 23, Volume: 0, Issue: 0, Year: 2023