Underwater sensing is of great significance in ocean exploration by divers to monitor their movements and keep in touch with the shore. However, unique sensors are required to apply in the marine environment that is quite different from the land circumstance. Herein, we reported a cellulose-skeleton-based composite hydrogel that is constraint to expand underwater under the effect of hydrogen bonds (H-bonds) and features advantages of high swelling resistance, structural durability, mechanical robustness, medium flexibility, high gauge factor (2.33) and long-term stability in water as a highly efficient wearable underwater sensor. This cellulose-based anti-swellable underwater hydrogel sensor showed tremendous potentials in underwater sensing applications for posture monitoring, communication, and marine biological research, etc .
Since hydrogels are conductive, easily engineered, and sufficiently flexible to imitate the mechanical properties of human skin, they are seen as potential options for wearable strain sensors. However, it is still a great challenge to prepare a hydrogel through simple and straightforward methods that integrate excellent stretchability, ionic conductivity, toughness, self-adhesion, and self-healing. Herein, an acrylamide/3-acrylamide phenylboronic acid cross-linked network is modified to produce a semi-interpenetrating cross-linked hydrogel in just one easy step by adding starch. The prepared hydrogel contains dynamic boronic ester bonds and hydrogen bonds, which endow the exceptional stretchability (5769–13,976 %, 20–50 wt%), ideal transmittance (>90 %), self-adhesiveness (0.636 ± 0.060 kPa, 30 wt%), and self-healing properties. Notably, the self-healing process is completed instantly, achieving a healing strength of up to 81.21 %. Additionally, the aforementioned hydrogel exhibits a broad working strain range (≈ 500 %) and high sensitivity (gauge factor = 1.99) as a strain sensor, allowing it to record and track human actions precisely. This work provides a novel approach to synthesizing hydrogels with optimal overall mechanical characteristics, with the potential to facilitate the development of wearable strain sensing system based on hydrogels for real-world applications.