Using TEMPO-oxidized-nanocellulose stabilized carbon nanotubes to make pigskin hydrogel conductive as flexible sensor and supercapacitor electrode: Inspired from a Chinese cuisine

Abstract

Inspired from a famous Chinese pigskin jelly cuisine, flexible and conductive hydrogel was prepared by incorporating 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxy radical (TEMPO)-oxidized-nanocellulose (TC) stabilized carbon nanotubes (CNT) into pigskin matrix (PS) in the present study. Due to the assistance of the TC, the CNT could homogeneously disperse within the PS and build strong and integrated conductive network. The prepared conductive hydrogel (TC-s-CNT-PS) was then used as the flexible conductive sensor for detecting daily human body motion. The supercapacitance properties of the conductive hydrogel was also studied. The results indicated that the TC-s-CNT-PS could quickly and accurately response to the cyclic tensile and pressing forces with stable and repeatable resistance change signals. Moreover, the TC-s-CNT-PS was able to detect real-time human body motion of different body parts. Besides, the prepared hydrogel also had a specific capacitance of ~65 F/g with 60% of the capacitance retention after 2000 consecutive charge-discharge cycles. The present study provides a new view to utilize animal food waste for the construction of high-performance conductive electrical devices as flexible sensors and supercapacitor electrode.