Issue 3, 2019

An intrinsically stretchable humidity sensor based on anti-drying, self-healing and transparent organohydrogels

Abstract

Stretchability and self-healing ability are essential attributes of modern electronic sensors for wearable applications. Herein, intrinsically ultrastretchable, self-healing and transparent humidity sensors composed of ionic κ-carrageenan/polyacrylamide (PAM) double network (DN) organohydrogels are fabricated via a facile solvent-exchange strategy. Hygroscopic ethylene glycol (EG) and glycerol (Gly) are introduced in the organohydrogels to promote both anti-drying and humidity sensing capabilities. The organohydrogel sensors display unprecedented stretchability (1225% strain) and excellent sensing performance, including fast response (0.27 s) and recovery time (0.3 s), wide relative humidity (RH) detection range (4–90%), stability and linearity. The conductance of Gly-DN sensors increases more than 543 times with increasing RH from 4% to 90%. With sufficient sensitivity, the humidity sensors can monitor human respiration with stable and repeatable output. The enhanced sensitivity and moisture-holding ability are attributed to the ready formation of hydrogen bonds between water molecules and enormous hydrophilic groups, including –OH, SO3 and –NH2, in the elaborate polymer networks and binary solvent. The hindering effect of polymer chains on the transport of conductive ions plays a key role in producing a transducing signal, which is proposed as the mechanism of the novel sensors.

Graphical abstract: An intrinsically stretchable humidity sensor based on anti-drying, self-healing and transparent organohydrogels

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
18 Sep. 2018
Accepted
12 Nov. 2018
First published
08 Jan. 2019

Mater. Horiz., 2019,6, 595-603

An intrinsically stretchable humidity sensor based on anti-drying, self-healing and transparent organohydrogels

J. Wu, Z. Wu, H. Xu, Q. Wu, C. Liu, B. Yang, X. Gui, X. Xie, K. Tao, Y. Shen, J. Miao and L. K. Norford, Mater. Horiz., 2019, 6, 595 DOI: 10.1039/C8MH01160E

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