A highly resilient conductive eutectogel with multi-environmental adaptability for strain sensor

• Published in: Polymer testing Vol. 132; p. 108360
• Main Authors: Zhang, Weiwei, Dai, Leyu, Yang, Chenhua, Xu, Wanrong, Qin, Chuanxiang, Wang, Jianjun, Sun, Jun, Dai, Lixing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2024
• Subjects: Environmental adaptability; Eutectogel; Resilient; Strain sensor; Resilient; Environmental adaptability; Strain sensor; Eutectogel
• ISSN: 0142-9418; 1873-2348
• DOI: 10.1016/j.polymertesting.2024.108360

Compared to traditional hydrogels and ionogels, eutectogels have shown extraordinary potential in wearable electronics. However, it remains a great challenge for eutectogels to achieve excellent adaptability under various environments. Herein, a highly resilient conductive eutectogel with extraordinary long-term environmental adaptability was fabricated via photopolymerization of acrylamide (AM) in a glycerol-chitosan quaternary ammonium salt (CQAS) mixture. The gel not only exhibited good tensile properties and excellent resilience, but also displayed remarkable harsh environment tolerance. Moreover, the eutectogel-based strain sensor demonstrated a wide sensing range and outstanding signal stability, which remained almost unchanged after 3000 cycles at 100% strain. The strain sensor was applied for the detection of various human motions and exhibited prominent sensing performance under harsh environments. More importantly, the eutectogel-based sensor exhibited almost consistent electromechanical performance and stable signal repeatability even after being stored at 20, 60, −40 °C and under vacuum for 15 days. •The conductive eutectogel showed a recovery ratio of over 95% after 20 cycles at 100% strain.•The gel displayed remarkable tolerance to harsh environmental conditions at −40 °C, 120 °C, and under vacuum.•The gel-based sensor maintained almost consistent electromechanical performance after storage in various environments for 15 days.