Plasmonic Hot-Electron-Assisted Ultra-Stretchable Hydrogel Electrodes for Wearable Cardiovascular Monitoring and AI-Driven Predictive Analytics

Abstract

Wearable bioelectronics require materials that combine high conductivity, mechanical resilience, and biocompatibility, traits rarely achieved together. We report a plasmonic hotelectron-assisted conductive hydrogel (Ag-PEDOT: PSS-PAM) engineered for continuous wearable cardiovascular monitoring. Silver nanoparticles embedded in the polymer network leverage localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) under UV-triggered polymerization to accelerate gelation (≈420 s) and enhance network uniformity. This mechanism reduces interfacial charge-transfer resistance and enhances polymer chain dynamics, resulting in ultrahigh stretchability (>2000%), notable conductivity (~0.33 S m⁻¹), and strong antibacterial efficacy (≥99.7%). The hydrogel maintains stable electromechanical performance across -20 °C to 40 °C and exhibits temperature-dependent strain sensitivity governed by network mechanics and ionic mobility. When applied as epidermal electrodes, it delivers high-fidelity ECG signals (SNR ≈25 dB) in human and rodent models. Coupled with AI-driven analytics, demographic prediction achieves 96.2% accuracy, establishing a material-device-data paradigm for intelligent, scalable bio interfaces in personalised wearable cardiovascular care.