Soft Stretchable Conductive Carboxymethylcellulose Hydrogels for Wearable Sensors

Hydrogels that have a capability to provide mechanical modulus matching between time-dynamic curvilinear tissues and bioelectronic devices have been considered tissue-interfacing ionic materials for stably sensing physiological signals and delivering feedback actuation in skin-inspired healthcare systems. These functionalities are totally different from those of elastomers with low ionic conductivity and higher stiffness. Despite such remarkable progress, their low conductivity remains limited in transporting electrical charges to internal or external terminals without undesired information loss, potentially leading to an unstable biotic-abiotic interfaces in the wearable electronics. Here, we report a soft stretchable conductive hydrogel composite consisting of alginate, carboxymethyl cellulose, polyacrylamide, and silver flakes. This composite was fabricated via sol-gel transition. In particular, the phase stability and low dynamic modulus rates of the conductive hydrogel were confirmed through an oscillatory rheological characterization. In addition, our conductive hydrogel showed maximal tensile strain (approximate to 400%), a low deformations of cyclic loading (over 100 times), low resistance (approximate to 8.4 omega), and a high gauge factor (approximate to 241). These stable electrical and mechanical properties allowed our composite hydrogel to fully support the operation of a light-emitting diode demonstration under mechanical deformation. Based on such durable performance, we successfully measured the electromyogram signals without electrical malfunction even in various motions.

Automated summary

In this study, a soft stretchable conductive hydrogel composite with good electrical and mechanical properties was reported. This material can stably sense physiological signals and provide feedback regulation in unstable biotic-abiotic interfaces.