Ultra-Stretchable and Force-Sensitive Hydrogels Reinforced with Chitosan Microspheres Embedded in Polymer Networks

Jiangjiang Duan; Xichao Liang; Jinhua Guo; Kunkun Zhu; Lina Zhang

doi:10.1002/adma.201602126

Ultra-Stretchable and Force-Sensitive Hydrogels Reinforced with Chitosan Microspheres Embedded in Polymer Networks

Adv Mater. 2016 Sep;28(36):8037-8044. doi: 10.1002/adma.201602126. Epub 2016 Jul 5.

Authors

Jiangjiang Duan¹, Xichao Liang¹, Jinhua Guo¹, Kunkun Zhu¹, Lina Zhang²

Affiliations

¹ College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
² College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China. zhangln@whu.edu.cn.

PMID: 27380145
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201602126

Abstract

An ultra-stretchable and force-sensitive hydrogel with surface self-wrinkling microstructure is demonstrated by in situ synthesizing polyacrylamide (PAAm) and polyaniline (PANI) in closely packed swollen chitosan microspheres, exhibiting ultra-stretchability (>600%), high sensitivity (0.35 kPa^-1 ) for subtle pressures (<1 kPa), and can detect force in a broad range (10² Pa-10¹ MPa) with excellent electrical stability and rapid response speed, potentially finding applications for E-skin.

Keywords: chitosan microspheres; electronic skin; force sensitivity; interpenetrating polymer networks; ultra-stretchable hydrogels.