Antifreeze and moisturizing high conductivity PEDOT/PVA hydrogels for wearable motion sensor

Conductive hydrogel has shown significant promise in the field of wearable devices. However, the mediocre antifreezing property and relatively low strain sensitivity limit the application of these gels. Herein, we developed a multifunctional hydrogel sensor based on a polyvinyl alcohol substrate with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) as the conductive filler and a glycerin/water component solvent as the dispersion medium. The resulting optimal sample exhibits attractive combination of high tensile stress (similar to 1.0 MPa), large elongation (> 400%), reasonable conductivity (similar to 3.5 S m(-1)), while the glycerin/water solvent enable the hydrogel with a great antifreezing and moisturizing property. Accordingly, it was envisioned that the valid design method for conductive hydrogels with antifreeze, toughness, and moisturizing properties would provide wide utilizations of flexible wearable strain sensor.