SCI和EI收录∣中国化工学会会刊

中国化学工程学报 ›› 2025, Vol. 85 ›› Issue (9): 367-377.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2025.06.002

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Stretchable, anti-freezing and self-healing zwitterionic polyacrylate hydrogels for flexible wearable sensors

Zhengyuan Zhou1, Naibing Li2, Haoran Cao2, Xi Luo1, Yongnan Zhou2, Tianchi Zhou2, Lu Cai2, Jinli Qiao1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China;
    2. College of Textiles and Clothing, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China
  • 收稿日期:2025-03-29 修回日期:2025-05-16 接受日期:2025-06-04 出版日期:2025-09-28 发布日期:2025-06-10
  • 通讯作者: Lu Cai,E-mail:cailu@ycit.edu.cn;Jinli Qiao,E-mail:qiaojl@dhu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFE0138900), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21972017), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Ministry of Education of China (D5000240188), and the “Scientific and Technical Innovation Action Plan” Basic Research Field of Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (19JC1410500).

Stretchable, anti-freezing and self-healing zwitterionic polyacrylate hydrogels for flexible wearable sensors

Zhengyuan Zhou1, Naibing Li2, Haoran Cao2, Xi Luo1, Yongnan Zhou2, Tianchi Zhou2, Lu Cai2, Jinli Qiao1   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China;
    2. College of Textiles and Clothing, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, China
  • Received:2025-03-29 Revised:2025-05-16 Accepted:2025-06-04 Online:2025-09-28 Published:2025-06-10
  • Contact: Lu Cai,E-mail:cailu@ycit.edu.cn;Jinli Qiao,E-mail:qiaojl@dhu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFE0138900), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21972017), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Ministry of Education of China (D5000240188), and the “Scientific and Technical Innovation Action Plan” Basic Research Field of Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (19JC1410500).

摘要: Traditional hydrogels are inevitably damaged during practical applications, resulting in a gradual deterioration of their functional efficacy. A primary strategy to address this issue involves developing hydrogels with inherent self-healing properties. In this study, we report the synthesis of self-healing polyacrylate hydrogels that integrate zwitterions, hydrophilic nano-silica and aluminum ions. Due to the synergistic effect of multiple hydrogen bonds, coordination bonds and electrostatic interactions, the tensile strength of the hydrogel is enhanced from 15.1 to 162.6 kPa. Moreover, the electrical resistance and tensile strength of the hydrogel can almost recover to its initial values after 20 min of healing at room temperature, exhibiting remarkable self-healing performance. Furthermore, the zwitterionic polyacrylate hydrogel serves as a wearable sensor with the capability of accurately response to the bending and stretching of human joints, exhibting a gauge factor of 1.87 under tensile strain ranging from 80% to 100%. Even after being freezed at -20 ℃ for 3 h, the zwitterionic polyacrylate hydrogel retains its exceptional writing performance. In conclusion, the hydrogels developed in this study demonstrate significant potential for wearable electronics applications.

关键词: Hydrogel, Polyacrylate, Zwitterion, Self-healing, Wearable sensor

Abstract: Traditional hydrogels are inevitably damaged during practical applications, resulting in a gradual deterioration of their functional efficacy. A primary strategy to address this issue involves developing hydrogels with inherent self-healing properties. In this study, we report the synthesis of self-healing polyacrylate hydrogels that integrate zwitterions, hydrophilic nano-silica and aluminum ions. Due to the synergistic effect of multiple hydrogen bonds, coordination bonds and electrostatic interactions, the tensile strength of the hydrogel is enhanced from 15.1 to 162.6 kPa. Moreover, the electrical resistance and tensile strength of the hydrogel can almost recover to its initial values after 20 min of healing at room temperature, exhibiting remarkable self-healing performance. Furthermore, the zwitterionic polyacrylate hydrogel serves as a wearable sensor with the capability of accurately response to the bending and stretching of human joints, exhibting a gauge factor of 1.87 under tensile strain ranging from 80% to 100%. Even after being freezed at -20 ℃ for 3 h, the zwitterionic polyacrylate hydrogel retains its exceptional writing performance. In conclusion, the hydrogels developed in this study demonstrate significant potential for wearable electronics applications.

Key words: Hydrogel, Polyacrylate, Zwitterion, Self-healing, Wearable sensor