Bone-inspired (GNEC/HAPAAm) hydrogel with fatigue-resistance for use in underwater robots and highly piezoresistive sensors

Abstract

A novel bone-inspired fatigue-resistant hydrogel with excellent mechanical and piezoresistive properties was developed, and it exhibited great potential as a load and strain sensor for underwater robotics and daily monitoring. The hydrogel was created by using the high edge density and aspect ratio of graphene nanosheet-embedded carbon (GNEC) nanomaterials to form a three-dimensional conductive network and prevent the expansion of microcracks in the hydrogel system. Multiscale progressive enhancement of the organic hydrogels (micrometer scale) was realized with inorganic graphene nanosheets (nanometer scale). The graphene nanocrystals inside the GNEC film exhibited good electron transport properties, and the increased distances between the graphene nanocrystals inside the GNEC film caused by external forces increased the resistance, so the hydrogel was highly sensitive and suitable for connection to a loop for sensing applications. The hydrogels obtained in this work exhibited excellent mechanical properties, such as tensile properties (strain up to 1685%) and strengths (stresses up to 171 kPa), that make them suitable for use as elastic retraction devices in robotics and provide high sensitivities (150 ms) for daily human monitoring.

Hydrogel-Based Energy Harvesters and Self-Powered Sensors for Wearable Applications

“…Furthermore, the piezoresistive effect typically refers to the phenomenon where the resistance of a semiconductor changes due to the variation in energy levels of the conduction band caused by stress-induced band structure changes [101][102][103][104]. However, in the context of hydrogel applications, the piezoresistive effect generally refers to changes in resistance resulting from variations in the dimensions of the gel under deformation [105][106][107][108]. Based on this characteristic, hydrogels can be used for stress or strain sensing.…”