Sodium alginate reinforced polyacrylamide/xanthan gum double network ionic hydrogels for stress sensing and self-powered wearable device applications

Tuo Li; Huige Wei; Yingying Zhang; Tong Wan; Dapeng Cui; Shixiang Zhao; Teng Zhang; Yanxiu Ji; Hassan Algadi; Zhanhu Guo; Liqiang Chu; Bowen Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120678

Sodium alginate reinforced polyacrylamide/xanthan gum double network ionic hydrogels for stress sensing and self-powered wearable device applications

Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Jun 1:309:120678. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120678. Epub 2023 Feb 9.

Authors

Tuo Li¹, Huige Wei², Yingying Zhang³, Tong Wan¹, Dapeng Cui⁴, Shixiang Zhao⁵, Teng Zhang⁵, Yanxiu Ji¹, Hassan Algadi⁶, Zhanhu Guo⁷, Liqiang Chu⁸, Bowen Cheng⁹

Affiliations

¹ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Brine Chemical Engineering and Resource Eco-utilization, College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
² Tianjin Key Laboratory of Brine Chemical Engineering and Resource Eco-utilization, College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China; State Key Laboratory of Biobased Fiber Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China. Electronic address: huigewei@tust.edu.cn.
³ Tianjin Chest Hospital, Tianjin 300222, China.
⁴ College of Light Industry Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China.
⁵ College of Electronic Information and Automation, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300222, China.
⁶ Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Najran University, Najran 11001, Saudi Arabia; College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China.
⁷ Mechanical and Construction Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Environment, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK.
⁸ Tianjin Key Laboratory of Brine Chemical Engineering and Resource Eco-utilization, College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China. Electronic address: chuliqiang@tust.edu.cn.
⁹ State Key Laboratory of Biobased Fiber Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China; College of Light Industry Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China. Electronic address: bowenc15@tust.edu.cn.

PMID: 36906361
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120678

Abstract

Strong and ductile sodium alginate (SA) reinforced polyacrylamide (PAM)/xanthan gum (XG) double network ionic hydrogels were constructed for stress sensing and self-powered wearable device applications. In the designed network of PXS-Mⁿ⁺/LiCl (short for PAM/XG/SA-Mⁿ⁺/LiCl, where Mⁿ⁺ stands for Fe³⁺, Cu²⁺ or Zn²⁺), PAM acts as a flexible hydrophilic skeleton, and XG functions as a ductile second network. The macromolecule SA interacts with metal ion Mⁿ⁺ to form a unique complex structure, significantly improving the mechanical strength of the hydrogel. The addition of inorganic salt LiCl endows the hydrogel with high electrical conductivity, and meanwhile reduces the freezing point and prevents water loss of the hydrogel. PXS-Mⁿ⁺/LiCl exhibits excellent mechanical properties and ultra-high ductility (a fracture tensile strength up to 0.65 MPa and a fracture strain up to 1800%), and high stress-sensing performance (a high GF up to 4.56 and pressure sensitivity of 0.122). Moreover, a self-powered device with a dual-power-supply mode, i.e., PXS-Mⁿ⁺/LiCl-based primary battery and TENG, and a capacitor as the energy storage component was constructed, which shows promising prospects for self-powered wearable electronics.

Keywords: Double network; Ionic hydrogel; Macromolecular reinforcing agent; Self-powered; Stress-sensing; Wearable electronics.