Microfabricated Conductive PEDOT:PSS Hydrogels for Soft Electronics
Ming Yang, Cunjiang Yu
Abstract
Soft electronics integrate biology, materials science, and electronic engineering to create devices that could seamlessly interface with biological systems. Among soft electronic materials, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) hydrogels are distinguished by their combined ionic–electronic conductivity, tissue-like mechanics, and biocompatibility. Despite these advantages, PEDOT:PSS hydrogels still face challenges, including high water content, mechanical weakness, and limited adhesion to conventional electronic materials. These challenges are further intensified by the incompatibility of PEDOT:PSS with high-temperature processing and chemically demanding fabrication techniques. Consequently, research has increasingly focused on developing PEDOT:PSS hydrogels with advanced fabrication methods that enable scalable production, complex structure, and high resolution to meet the requirements of soft electronics. This review explores the integration of PEDOT:PSS hydrogels with soft electronics from hydrogel-to-device and device-to-hydrogel perspectives. It explores strategies to enhance the performance of PEDOT:PSS hydrogels and address fabrication challenges. Both top-down (e.g., scalable fabrication and high precision) and bottom-up (e.g., tunable conductivity and multifunctionality) approaches are examined, emphasizing advances that improve hydrogel integration with manufacturing technologies. By analyzing these design principles, this review contributes to hydrogel-based microfabrication and soft electronics, driving developments in bioelectronics, soft sensors, and soft robotics.