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Tough and flexible conductive triple network hydrogels based on agarose/polyacrylamide/polyvinyl alcohol and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate
Author(s) -
Azar Mina Ghafouri,
Dodda Jagan Mohan,
Bělský Petr,
Šlouf Miroslav,
Vavruňková Veronika,
Kadlec Jaroslav,
Remiš Tomáš
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
polymer international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.592
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1097-0126
pISSN - 0959-8103
DOI - 10.1002/pi.6232
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , polystyrene sulfonate , materials science , vinyl alcohol , pedot:pss , polyvinyl alcohol , poly(3,4 ethylenedioxythiophene) , interpenetrating polymer network , sulfonate , ultimate tensile strength , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , polyacrylamide , agarose , lower critical solution temperature , polymer , composite material , copolymer , chemistry , sodium , chromatography , engineering , metallurgy
Herein, we demonstrate a simple and cost‐effective way to fabricate conductive triple network hydrogels based on agarose (Ag), polyacrylamide (PAM) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with a combination of physical–chemical crosslinked networks. The conductivity was generated by doping poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) into the triple network matrix of Ag‐PAM‐PVA. All hydrogels were homogeneous in the swollen state and incorporation of PEDOT:PSS did not influence the morphology significantly on a microscale, (light microscopy and cryogenic low‐vacuum SEM). On the nanoscale, small‐angle X‐ray scattering showed some differences between hydrogels with/without PEDOT:PSS and also between double/triple networks. The tensile and compressive properties were enhanced at a lower concentration of PEDOT:PSS, with a maximum tensile strength of 0.47 MPa, at an elongation of 119%. Fortunately, all hydrogels have shown conductivity in the range of 0.3−1.5 mS cm −1 which is comparable with the conductivity of skin tissues and hence they can be conveniently optimized for use in biosensors or other devices related to skin/internal tissues. © 2021 Society of Industrial Chemistry.