Lignosulfonate-doped polyaniline-reinforced poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels as highly sensitive, antimicrobial, and UV-resistant multifunctional sensors.

ABSTRACT

Flexible wearable strain sensors exist the advantages of high resolution, lightweight, wide measurement range, which have unlimited potential in fields such as soft robotics, electronic skin, and artificial intelligence. However, current flexible sensors based on hydrogels still have some defects, including poor mechanical properties, self-adhesive properties and bacteriostatic properties. In this study, A conductive hydrogel Sodium Ligninsulfonate (LGS)@PANI-Ag-poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels consisting of lignosulfonate-doped polyaniline (LGS@PANI), silver nitrate, and PVA interactions were designed and prepared for sensing applications. Here, the abundant reactive functional groups of lignosulfonates not only improve the electrochemical and electrical conductivity of polyaniline, thereby increasing its potential for sensing and capacitor applications, but also provide excellent mechanical properties (0.71 MPa), self-adhesion (81.27 J/m2) and ultraviolet (UV) resistance (UV inhibition close to 100 %) to the hydrogel. In addition, the hydrogel exhibited rich multifunctional properties, including tensile strain resistance (up to 397 %), antimicrobial properties (up to 100 % inhibition of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus), high sensitivity (gauge factor, GF = 4.18), and a rapid response time (100 ms). The LGS@PANI-Ag-PVA hydrogels showed potential for wearable sensors that monitor various biosignals from the human body, as well as human-computer interaction, artificial intelligence and other diverse fields.