One-pot synthesis of multi-functional cellulose-based ionic conductive organohydrogel with low-temperature strain sensitivity

Abstract

The advent of high-performance conductive organohydrogels, which are sustainable in extremely cold environment, has attracted immersing interest in biosensors. In this work, a highly stretchable, self-healable, adhesive and antibacterial cellulose-based ionic conductive organohydrogel with low-temperature strain sensitivity was developed, using in-situ polymerization of acrylamide in glycerol-water with poly (vinyl alcohol), chitosan, FeCl3 and 2,2,6,6-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl oxidized cellulose nanofibril (TCNF). Owing to their chemically cross-linked structures and multiple H-bonding networks, the organohydrogel exhibits excellent mechanical properties, such as high stretchability (540 %), high compression strength (0.44 MPa), nearly 87 % self-healing efficiency and adhesive to various substrates. Also, good antibacterial property was confirmed by the diameter of inhibition zone (∼5.1 mm) against Salmonella enteritidis. Notably, the organohydrogels remained high conductivity and flexibility even below −20 °C, which can be applied as low-temperature strain sensor for real-time. Therefore, it has promising applications in artificial intelligence and personal healthcare under cold environment.