A highly sensitive strain sensor based on a silica@polyaniline core–shell particle reinforced hydrogel with excellent flexibility, stretchability, toughness and conductivity

Abstract

Hydrogel-based flexible strain sensors for personal health monitoring and human–machine interaction have attracted wide interest among researchers. In this paper, hydrophobic association and nanocomposite conductive hydrogels were successfully prepared by introducing polyaniline coated silica (SiO₂@PANI) core–shell particles into an acrylamide–lauryl methacrylate (P(AM/LMA)) copolymer matrix. The hydrophobic interaction between the SiO₂@PANI core–shell particles and the hydrophobic LMA in the P(AM/LMA) chains induced the hydrogels with outstanding mechanical properties. Furthermore, the polyaniline on the SiO₂ surface and the inorganic salt formed a conductive network, which synergistically enhanced the conductivity of the hydrogels. The obtained hydrogels integrate high tensile strength (1398 kPa), ultra-stretchability (>1000%), wonderful strain sensitivity (gauge factor = 10.407 at 100–1100% strain), quick response (300 ms), and excellent durability (>300 cycles) due to the hydrophobic association and nanocomposite effect. The prepared SiO₂@PANI-P(AM/LMA) hydrogel shows high stress sensitivity to detect human movements and displays a broad application prospect in flexible strain-sensor field.