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Design and development of a novel PVA/CS/MOP ionic conductive hydrogel for flexible sensors: fabrication, characterization, and performance evaluation

  • Polymers & biopolymers
  • Published:
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Abstract

The development of advanced hydrogels with exceptional fracture strength and ionic conductivity is critical and challenging for the progress of flexible biological sensors. This study presents a novel PVA/CS/MOP ionic conductive hydrogel, which stands out due to its unique combination of remarkable fracture strength and enhanced ionic conductivity. While chitosan/PVA hydrogels have been previously established, this work focuses on a distinct fabrication method. It addresses the main scientific problem of achieving optimal fracture strength and ionic conductivity simultaneously. Chitosan (CS) is incorporated within a biocompatible polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix, and subsequently, the hydrogel is immersed in muriate of potash (MOP) solution, resulting in a hydrogel with outstanding fracture strength (0.39 MPa) and stretchability (265% fracture strain). The salt soaking process effectively enhances the ionic conductivity of the hydrogel, achieving a maximum of 4.5 S m−1. Additionally, the hydrogel serves as a flexible sensor, capable of monitoring stable electrical signals and recovering after deformation, making it a promising candidate for various applications in flexible electronics and human health monitoring. This study highlights the novelty of achieving an optimized combination of fracture strength and ionic conductivity in the PVA/CS/MOP hydrogel, contributing to the advancement of flexible sensor technologies.

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Upon acceptance of the manuscript by the journal, readers will have access to the pertinent data and code linked to this research through the journal-designated electronic repository with a DOI. The dataset and code utilized to corroborate the outcomes of this study are accessible upon request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11702169), the Scientific Research Staring Foundation of Shanghai University of Engineering Science (Grant No. 2017-19), and the Talents Action Program of Shanghai University of Engineering Science (Grant No. 2017RC522017). The authors also acknowledge the support of the Class III Peak Discipline of Shanghai-Materials Science and Engineering (High-Energy Beam Intelligent Processing and Green Manufacturing) (Project No.19YF1417900). The authors extend their appreciation to all members of the Functional Textile Technology Research Center at Shanghai University of Engineering Science for their valuable insights and assistance throughout various stages of this research, despite not being listed as authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Textile and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai, 201620, China

    Wenjun Xu, Md All Amin Newton, Binjie Xin & Zhuoming Chen

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  1. Wenjun Xu
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Contributions

WX contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, software, investigation, formal analysis, and writing—original draft. MAAN assited in the data curation, writing—original draft, methodology, review, validation, and editing. BX was involved in the conceptualization, funding acquisition, resources, supervision, and writing—review and editing. ZC contributed to the visualization, investigation, resources, supervision, and writing—review and editing. The roles of each author were categorized according to the CASRAI Credit taxonomy.

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Correspondence to Binjie Xin or Zhuoming Chen.

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Xu, W., Newton, M.A.A., Xin, B. et al. Design and development of a novel PVA/CS/MOP ionic conductive hydrogel for flexible sensors: fabrication, characterization, and performance evaluation. J Mater Sci 59, 1104–1122 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-023-09255-z

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