Preparing wearable sensors based on self-healing hydrogels and conductive materials and eva‎luation of their performance

10/19/2024 12:00:00 AM

In recent years, flexible and wearable electronic equipment has become increasingly preva‎lent due to their distinctive properties, particularly in the domains of human health diagnostics, physical activity monitoring, and energy storage devices. These developments have garnered significant attention within the scientific community. Nevertheless, the fabrication of multifunctional electronic devices with high elasticity, sensitivity and stability remains a significant challenge. The active materials employed in the fabrication of these devices must possess distinctive conductivity, exemplary flexibility, long-term stability, self-healing properties, and adhesion capabilities. These sensors are capable of detecting a range of body movements, including subtle changes in facial expressions and vocal cord vibrations, as well as larger movements such as those of the joints. Conductive hydrogels, a class of materials with high elasticity, are widely employed in this field due to their exceptional flexibility, conductivity, and physical and chemical properties that closely resemble those of body tissues. Furthermore, hydrogel adhesion without the use of specialized adhesive tapes is essential for their integration into wearable devices. They are primarily employed in the fabrication of flexible electronic devices, including electronic skins and supercapacitors. The objective of this research is to develop a conductive and adhesive hydrogel utilizing MXene as the conductive material and dopamine as the adhesion factor. Furthermore, the investigation has also focused on the self-healing properties of the material, which are attributed to the presence of various physical and chemical bonds. The findings indicated that the incorporation of elevated quantities of MXene led to enhanced conductivity characteristics. Specifically, the conductivity values were 2.92x10⁻⁴, 3.16x10⁻⁴, 3.16x10⁻⁴ and 2.92x10⁻⁴, respectively, for MXene 2%, 4%, 8% and 0% samples. The results demonstrated that the MXene samples exhibited a conductivity of 77x10⁻⁴ S/cm, mechanical strength (kPa 16.75 for the control sample, kPa 15.25 for MXene 4%, kPa 9.75 for MXene 8%), and elongation at break (373% for MXene 4%, 270% for MXene 8%). Furthermore, the alteration of electrical resistance signals in response to changes in length due to tensile or compressive forces, coupled with their self-healing properties, which are attributed to hydrogen and covalent bonds, render them a promising candidate for potential applications. It is suitable for use in the field of wearable stretch sensors and the detection of fine and coarse body movements.

هيدروژل پليمري رسانا , خود چسبندگي , تشخيص حركت , سنسور پوشيدني , خودترميمي , مكسين

Conductive polymer hydrogel , self-adhesive , motion detection , wearable sensors , self-healing , MXene

keyvan golmohammadi

dr. shahrzad javanshir