Development of Conductive Hydrogels for Fabricating Flexible Strain Sensors

• Published in: Small (Weinheim an der Bergstrasse, Germany) Vol. 18; no. 5; pp. e2101518 - n/a
• Main Authors: Li, Gang, Li, Chenglong, Li, Guodong, Yu, Dehai, Song, Zhaoping, Wang, Huili, Liu, Xiaona, Liu, Hong, Liu, Wenxia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-02-2022
• Subjects: conductivity; Electric Conductivity; Electrical resistivity; Freezing; Human motion; Humans; Hydrogels; Mechanical properties; Motion perception; Movement; Nanotechnology; Polymers; Sensors; Strain; strain sensors; stretchability; Wearable Electronic Devices; working mode; hydrogels; conductivity; strain sensors; working mode; stretchability
• ISSN: 1613-6810; 1613-6829
• DOI: 10.1002/smll.202101518

Conductive hydrogels can be prepared by incorporating various conductive materials into polymeric network hydrogels. In recent years, conductive hydrogels have been developed and applied in the field of strain sensors owing to their unique properties, such as electrical conductivity, mechanical properties, self‐healing, and anti‐freezing properties. These remarkable properties allow conductive hydrogel‐based strain sensors to show excellent performance for identifying external stimuli and detecting human body movement, even at subzero temperatures. This review summarizes the properties of conductive hydrogels and their application in the fabrication of strain sensors working in different modes. Finally, a brief prospectus for the development of conductive hydrogels in the future is provided.
Conductive hydrogels are extensively studied in the field of strain sensors due to their conductivity, mechanical properties, self‐healing, and anti‐freezing properties, which allow strain sensors to show excellent performance even at subzero temperatures. This review summarizes the properties of conductive hydrogels and their application in the fabrication of strain sensors working in different modes.