Gelatin/sodium alginate-based strongly adhesive, environmentally resistant, highly stable hydrogel for 3D printing to prepare multifunctional sensors and flexible supercapacitors.

ABSTRACT

The increasing demand for environmentally friendly performance materials in the field of wearable electronics has brought renewable and low-cost hydrogels based on natural polymers into the research spotlight. As a biodegradable natural polymer, sodium alginate (SA) shows great promise for applications in wearable electronics. Here, we report a hydrogel with printability, adhesion, and is highly stable based on gelatin (Gel) and SA. SA improves the viscosity of the hydrogel, which can bond iron products weighing up to 20 kg due to metal coordination with the material, and the hydrogel binder is recyclable and reusable. The presence of glycerin allowed the hydrogel sensor device to maintain sensitivity after exposure to air at 25 °C for up to 35 days, and printed hydrogel samples retained their compressive resilience after exposure to air (25 °C, 55 % RH) for 30 days. Hydrogel-based supercapacitors show good stability after 58 h of charge/discharge cycling. This paper provides research ideas for the preparation of hydrogels with strong adhesion properties, as well as hydrogel 3D printing technology for the preparation of flexible sensor devices and flexible energy storage devices.