Phytic acid/carboxymethyl chitosan assisted multifunctional zwitterionic hydrogel for temperature perception, human movements and electromyogram signals monitoring

Conductive hydrogels have garnered tremendous focus owing to their potential applications in flexible electronics. However, conventional conductive hydrogels often face limitations such as freezing at low temperatures, dehydration in dry environments, lack of antibacterial activity, and poor mechanical stability, which significantly restrict their practical applications in flexible electronics. To address these challenges, a multifunctional zwitterionic conductive hydrogel was developed by proportionally integrating phytic acid (PA), carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) and acrylamide. The acquired hydrogel network was constructed by hydrogen bonds and electrostatic interaction. The incorporation of CMCS made the hydrogel with higher mechanical property. The introduction of PA imparted the hydrogel good anti-freezing, water retention, antibacterial and ionic conductivity characteristics. Additionally, the hydrogel also exhibited good adhesion effect (maximum adhesion strength of 17.6 kPa to pig skin) and self-healing performance (stress healing efficiency of 82%) at room and low temperatures. The prepared multifunctional hydrogel not only demonstrated thermal response performance, but also could be designed as flexible sensor for monitoring human actions and assembled as an electrode for detecting the electromyogram signals of the human body. This work provides a strategy to design a functional-integrated hydrogel that is anticipated to serve as a flexible electronic product for the next generation. Download: Download high-res image (242KB) Download: Download full-size image