Conductive Hydrogel With a Low-Content 3D Interconnected Network Formed by the Vertex-Edge-Face Structure of Ag NPs-HCNT-G

A high loading conductive filler is typically required to reach the percolation threshold for composites; however, it leads to a decline in the material's physical and mechanical properties. Here, the conductive hydrogel (PAC-Ag-H-G) with a high-quality 3D interconnected network contained silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), hydroxylated carbon nanotubes (HCNT), and graphene (G) in the matrix of polyacrylic acid/chitosan (PAC) was fabricated. PAC-Ag-H-G showed stretchable properties, good toughness, and breaking strength fatigue resistance. Most importantly, thanks to the 3D interconnected network formed by the vertex-edge-face structure of Ag NPs-HCNT-G, the electrical conductivity of the hydrogel is significantly enhanced with the minimal addition of only 0.2% (relative to AA) of HCNT and GO, respectively. The conductivity of PAC-Ag-H-G1 is 4.27 times that of PAC. It had steady biological or non-biological adhesion and could sensitively detect human joint movements. Additionally, this hydrogel exhibited excellent antibacterial effects against Gram-positive bacteria ( S.aureus ) and Gram-negative bacteria ( E.coli ). PAC-Ag-H-G conductive hydrogel is expected to adhere directly to the human body or the humanoid robot joint bearings for flexible motion monitoring.