Highly Robust Conductive Organo‐Hydrogels with Powerful Sensing Capabilities Under Large Mechanical Stress
Tian Li, Haobo Qi, Xinyu Dong, Guanjin Li, Wei Zhai
Abstract
Abstract The low mechanical strength of conductive hydrogels (<1 MPa) has been a significant hurdle in their practical application, as they are prone to fracturing under complex conditions, limiting their effectiveness. Here, this work fabricates a strong and tough conductive hierarchical poly(vinyl alcohol) (PEDOT:PSS/PVA) organo‐hydrogel (PPS organo‐hydrogel) via a facile combining strategy of self‐assembly and stretch training. With PVA/PEDOT:PSS microlayers and aligned PVA/PEDOT:PSS nanofibers, PVA and PEDOT:PSS nanocrystalline domains, and semi‐interpenetrating polymer networks, PPS organo‐hydrogels display outstanding mechanical performances (strength: 54.8 MPa, toughness: 153.97 MJ m −3 ). Additionally, PPS organo‐hydrogels also exhibit powerful sensing capabilities (gauge factor (GF): 983) due to the aligned hierarchical structures and organic liquid phase of DMSO. Notably, with the synergy of such mechanical and sensing properties, organo‐hydrogels can even detect objects as light as 1 gram, despite bearing a tensile strength of ≈23 MPa. By incorporating these materials into human‐machine interfaces, such as controlling artificial arms for grabbing objects and monitoring sport behaviors in soccer training, this work has unlocked a new realm of possibilities for these high‐performance hierarchical organo‐hydrogels. This approach to designing hierarchical structures has the potential to lead to even more high‐performance hydrogels in the future.