Hydrogels are conductive
and stretchable, allowing for their use
in flexible electronic devices, such as electronic skins, sensors,
human motion monitoring, brain–computer interface, and so on.
Herein, we synthesized the copolymers having various molar ratios
of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) to thiophene (Th), which served
as conductive additives. With doping engineering and incorporation
with P(EDOT-co-Th) copolymers, hydrogels have presented
excellent physical/chemical/electrical properties. It was found that
the mechanical strength, adhesion ability, and conductivity of hydrogels
were highly dependent on the molar ratio of EDOT to Th of the copolymers.
The more the EDOT, the stronger the tensile strength and the greater
the conductivity, but the lower the elongation break tends to be.
By comprehensively evaluating the physical/chemical/electrical properties
and cost of material use, the hydrogel incorporated with a 7:3 molar
ratio P(EDOT-co-Th) copolymer was an optimal formulation
for soft electronic devices.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.