HNTs@HKUST-1 strengthened PAAm hydrogel for strain sensing and antibacterial application

Highly stretchable hydrogel shows great potential for wearable strain sensors. However, the rapid propagation of bacteria while using wearable sensors may threaten health. In this work, HNTs@HKUST-1 composites were prepared by the incorporation of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) during the synthesis of HKUST-1. HNTs depressed the crystal growth of the HKUST-1, which leads to the 2D nanosheet morphology. HNTs@HKUST-1 serves as a reinforcing agent for polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels, and PAAm-HNTs@HKUST-1 has high tensile strain properties (elongation at break of 912.5% and tensile strength of 22.4 kPa). The Cu 2+ in HKUST-1 endows remarkable conductivity and excellent antibacterial properties to the composite. The composite hydrogels were then developed as human motion detection sensors with antibacterial property to prevent microbial infection, which show recyclability, high sensitivity, and fast responsiveness. So, they have great potential as flexible antibacterial materials to monitor movements of the human body in real-time.