Zeolitic imidazolate framework-enhanced conductive nanocomposite hydrogels with high stretchability and low hysteresis for self-powered multifunctional sensors

Abstract

Conductive hydrogels have attracted increasing attention in the field of self-powered multifunctional sensors. However, simultaneously achieving high conductivity, high tensile strain, and low hysteresis remains challenging. Here, a poly(acrylamide)–polyvinylpyrrolidone nanocomposite conductive double network hydrogel with zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 nanoparticles was developed. The prepared hydrogel exhibits high stretchability (>900%), low mechanical hysteresis (<7%), high conductivity, fast response, high sensitivity, high cycling stability, and anti-freezing ability. Benefiting from such high performance, it can be utilized as a flexible electrode in a triboelectric nanogenerator for efficient energy harvesting. A self-powered multifunctional sensor is also demonstrated for human motion detection, pronunciation assessment, handwriting recognition and Morse code encryption. This work highlights the potential of conductive hydrogels for applications in self-powered wearable electronics and sensors.