

FOLLOWUS
a.Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Immunology and Inflammation, Jiangxi Provincial Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, Health Management Center, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, China
b.Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Flexible Electronics, Flexible Electronics Innovation Institute, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, China
c.College of Information Engineering, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, China
d.Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine; Shanghai Clinical Center for Diabetes; Shanghai Key Clinical Center for Metabolic Disease; Shanghai Diabetes Institute; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Diabetes Mellitus, Shanghai 200233, China
e.Institute of Energy Materials and Nanotechnology, Nanchang Jiaotong Institute, Nanchang 330100, China
ndefy00059@ncu.edu.cn (H.L.)
xueyu8@jxstnu.edu.cn (Y.X.)
z811wj@163.com (W.J.Z.)
luby@jxstnu.edu.cn (B.Y.L.)
Received:03 December 2025,
Revised:2026-01-20,
Accepted:05 February 2026,
Online First:09 May 2026,
Published:05 June 2026
Scan QR Code
Zhang, L. Y.; Li, G.; Li, G. N.; Hou, Y. Z.; Li, H.; Xue, Y.; Zhao, W. J.; Lu, B. Y. Hysteresis-free and fatigue-resistant conductive hydrogel electronics towards intelligent human-machine interaction. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1830–1842
Liu-Yu Zhang, Gen Li, Gui-Neng Li, et al. Hysteresis-free and Fatigue-resistant Conductive Hydrogel Electronics towards Intelligent Human-machine Interaction[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(6): 1830-1842.
Zhang, L. Y.; Li, G.; Li, G. N.; Hou, Y. Z.; Li, H.; Xue, Y.; Zhao, W. J.; Lu, B. Y. Hysteresis-free and fatigue-resistant conductive hydrogel electronics towards intelligent human-machine interaction. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1830–1842 DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3616-7.
Liu-Yu Zhang, Gen Li, Gui-Neng Li, et al. Hysteresis-free and Fatigue-resistant Conductive Hydrogel Electronics towards Intelligent Human-machine Interaction[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(6): 1830-1842. DOI: 10.1007/s10118-026-3616-7.
The microphase-separated poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/conductive carbon black (CCB) interlocking hydrogel enables low-hysteresis
high-stability strain sensing for precise motion and gesture monitoring
and
through machine-learning analysis of continuous signals
supports intelligent human-machine interaction.
Conductive
hydrogel-based strain sensors
as key components of electronic skins
have garnered significant attention for the development of advanced human-machine interfaces and flexible electronics. However
their intrinsic limitations of large hysteresis and poor mechanical robustness pose significant challenges for achieving the high accuracy and long-term stability required for advanced sensing systems. Here
we achieve hysteresis suppression and structural stability by constructing a microphase-separated interlocking network within a 3D-printable poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/conductive carbon black (CCB) hydrogel. The resulting conductive hydrogel strain sensor possesses low electrical hysteresis (0.82%) and high cycle stability (
>
1×10
4
cycles)
enabling real-time and precise monitoring of joint bending and muscle contraction. By converting finger motion into machine-learnable signal patterns
the sensor enables an identification system that decodes continuous strain signals into alphabetical information
offering a novel human-machine interaction modality. This work provides a promising conductive hydrogel platform with enhanced sensing fidelity and interaction capability towards intelligent human-machine interactions.
Yu, X.; Xie, Z.; Yu, Y.; L ee, J.; Vazquez-Guardado, A.; Luan, H.; Ruban, J.; Ning, X.; Akhtar, A.; Li, D.; Ji, B.; Liu, Y.; Sun, R.; Cao, J.; Huo, Q.; Zhong, Y.; Lee, C.; Kim, S.; Gutruf, P.; Zhang, C.; Xue, Y.; Guo, Q.; Chempakasseril, A.; Tian, P.; Lu, W.; Jeong, J.; Yu, Y. J.; Cornman, J.; Tan, C.; Kim, B.; Lee, K.; Feng, X.; Huang, Y.; Rogers, J. A. Skin-integrated wireless haptic interfaces for virtual and augmented reality. Nature 2019 , 575 , 473−479..
Sundaram, S.; Kellnhofer, P.; Li, Y.; Zhu, J.; Torralba, A.; Matusik, W. Learning the signatures of the human grasp using a scalable tactile glove. Nature 2019 , 569 , 698−702..
Yin, J.; Li, Y.; Sun, X.; Qin, Z. Tough gelatin-based biogels for wearable sensors. Soft Sci. 2025 , 5 , 30..
Deng, J.; Wu, J.; Chen, X.; Sarrafian, T.; Varela, C.; Whyte, W.; Guo, C.; Roche, E.; Griffiths, L.; Yuk, H.; Nabzdyk, C.; Zhao, X. A bioadhesive pacing lead for atraumatic cardiac monitoring and stimulation in rodent and porcine models. Sci. Transl. Med. 2024 , 16 , eado9003..
Hang, C.; Zhao, X.; Xi, S.; Shang, Y.; Yuan, K.; Yang, F.; Wang, Q.; Wang, J.; Zhang, D.; Lu, H. Highly stretchable and self-healing strain sensors for motion detection in wireless human-machine interface. Nano Energy 2020 , 76 , 105064..
Zhao, Y.; Zhang, S.; Yu, T.; Zhang, Y.; Ye, G.; Cui, H.; He, C.; Jiang, W.; Zhai, Y.; Lu, C.; Gu, X.; Liu, N. Ultra-conformal skin electrodes with synergistically enhanced conductivity for long-time and low-motion artifact epidermal electrophysiology. Nat. Commun. 2021 , 12 , 4880..
Dong, J.; Peng, Y.; Nie, X.; Li, L.; Zhang, C.; Lai, F.; He, G.; Ma, P.; Wei, Q.; Huang, Y.; Liu, T. Hierarchically designed super-elastic metafabric for thermal-wet comfortable and antibacterial epidermal electrode. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2022 , 32 , 2209762..
Huang, M.; Liu, S.; Chi, Y.; Li, J.; Sun, H.; Dong, L.; Liu, H.; Liu, C.; Shen, C. Multimodal sensing conductive organohydrogel electronics based on chitosan-encapsulated MXene nanocomposites for deep learning-enhanced ball sports recognition. Soft Sci. 2025 , 5 , 24..
Zhang, Y.; He, P.; Luo, M.; Xu, X.; Dai, G.; Yang, J. Highly stretchable polymer/silver nanowires composite sensor for human health monitoring. Nano Res. 2020 , 13 , 919−926..
Markvicka, E.; Bartlett, M.; Huang, X.; Majidi, C. An autonomously electrically self-healing liquid metal-elastomer composite for robust soft-matter robotics and electronics. Nat. Mater. 2018 , 17 , 618−624..
Wang, L.; Chen, W.; Li, H.; Xu, X.; Zhang, Z.; Wu, L.; Xu, J.; Huang, Y.; Lu, B. Ultrasoft, anti-dehydrated, and highly stretchable carboxymethylcellulose-based organohydrogel strain sensors for non-invasive real-time plant growth monitoring. Carbohydr. Polym. 2025 , 364 , 123753..
Huang, X.; Zou, J.; Gu, G. Kinematic modeling and control of variable curvature soft continuum robots. IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechatronics 2021 , 26 , 3175−3185..
Zhang, N.; Zhou, P.; Yang, X.; Shen, F.; Ren, J.; Hou, T.; Dong, L.; Bian, R.; Wang, D.; Gu, G.; Zhu, X. Biomimetic rigid-soft finger design for highly dexterous and adaptive robotic hands. Sci. Adv. 2025 , 11 , eadu2018..
Wang, W.; Liu, J.; Li, H.; Zhao, Y.; Wan, R.; Wang, Q.; Xu, J.; Lu, B. Photopatternable PEDOT:PSS hydrogels for high-resolution photolithography. Adv. Sci. 2025 , 12 , 2414834..
Xue, Y.; Zhang, J.; Chen, X.; Zhang, J.; Chen, G.; Zhang, K.; Lin, J.; Guo, C.; Liu, J. Trigger-detachable hydrogel adhesives for bioelectronic interfaces. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2021 , 31 , 2106446..
Yao, H.; Yang, W.; Cheng, W.; Tan, Y.; See, H.; Li, S.; Ali, H.; Lim, B.; Liu, Z.; Tee, B. Near-hysteresis-free soft tactile electronic skins for wearables and reliable machine learning. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2020 , 117 , 25352−25359..
Zou, J.; Kassim, S. O.; Ren, J.; Vaziri, V.; Aphale, S. S.; Gu, G. A generalized motion control framework of dielectric elastomer actuators: Dynamic modeling, sliding-mode control and experimental evaluation. IEEE Trans. Robot. 2024 , 40 , 919−935..
Liu, F.; Jing, X.; Yang, J.; Mi, H.; Feng, F.; Liu, Y. Recent progress in low hysteresis gels: strategies, applications, and challenges. Nano Today 2025 , 61 , 102601..
Huang, B.; Lv, Z.; Zhang, M.; Liu, J.; Liu, H.; Li, T.; Fu, L.; Lin, B.; Xu, C. Low mechanical-hysteresis soft materials: materials, design, and applications. J. Mater. Chem. A 2025 , 13 , 15427−15452..
Lei, H.; Dong, L.; Li, Y.; Zhang, J.; Chen, H.; Wu, J.; Zhang, Y.; Fan, Q.; Xue, B.; Qin, M.; Chen, B.; Cao, Y.; Wang, W. Stretchable hydrogels with low hysteresis and anti-fatigue fracture based on polyprotein cross-linkers. Nat. Commun. 2020 , 11 , 4032..
Song, J.; Mou, C.; Balakrishnan, G.; Wang, Y.; Rajagopalan, M.; Schreiner, A.; Naik, D.; Cohen-Karni, T.; Halbreiner, M.; Bettinger, C. Hysteresis-free and high-sensitivity strain sensing of ionically conductive hydrogels. Adv. NanoBiomed Res. 2023 , 3 , 2200132..
Chen, L.; Jin, Z.; Feng, W.; Sun, L.; Xu, H.; Wang, C. A hyperelastic hydrogel with an ultralarge reversible biaxial strain. Science 2024 , 383 , 1455−1461..
Sun, X.; Luo, F.; Jiang, F. Low-hysteresis cellulose-based hydrogels for strain detecting. Macromol. Rapid Commun . 2025 , e00521 ..
Huang, W.; Wang, X.; Luo, F.; Zhao, X.; Chen, K.; Qin, Y. Ultrastretchable, ultralow hysteresis, high-toughness hydrogel strain sensor for pressure recognition with deep learning. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2024 , 16 , 49834−49844..
Zhou, L.; Zhao, B.; Liang, J.; Lu, F.; Yang, W.; Xu, J.; Zheng, J.; Liu, Y.; Wang, R.; Liu, Z. Low hysteresis, water retention, anti-freeze multifunctional hydrogel strain sensor for human-machine interfacing and real-time sign language translation. Mater. Horiz. 2024 , 11 , 3856−3866..
Zhu, R.; Zhu, D.; Zheng, Z.; Wang, X. Tough double network hydrogels with rapid self-reinforcement and low hysteresis based on highly entangled networks. Nat. Commun. 2024 , 15 , 1344..
Han, S.; Hu, Y.; Wei, J.; Li, S.; Yang, P.; Mi, H.; Liu, C.; Shen, C. A semi-interpenetrating poly(ionic liquid) network-driven low hysteresis and transparent hydrogel as a self-powered multifunctional sensor. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2024 , 34 , 2401607..
Chen, M.; Qin, W.; Wang, Y.; Zhai, H.; Gu, C.; Zhao, X.; Bi, Y.; Xu, Y.; Ming, Z.; Li, S.; Hu, S.; Zhang, X.; Ma, X.; Yin, S. Dynamic Na + bridges: a 3D printing strategy for hydrogels with high strength, low hysteresis, strong adhesion, and self-healing. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2026 , 36, e24993..
Zuo, F.; Hu, J.; Zhang, S.; Guo, J.; Li, R.; Xin, Y.; Li, C.; Yan, J. Facile preparation of super-strong and tough poly(vinyl alcohol)/carbon nanotube hydrogel enabled by triple crosslinking networks. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025 , 43 , 2432−2442..
Feng, M.; Yang, D.; Ren, L.; Wei, G.; Gu, G. X-crossing pneumatic artificial muscles. Sci. Adv. 2023 , 9 , eadi7133..
Xia, J.; He, L.; Lu, Z.; Song, J.; Wang, Q.; Liu, L.; Tian, Y. High performance strain sensor based on carbon black/graphene/ecoflex for human health monitoring and vibration signal detection. ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2023 , 6 , 19279−19289..
Liu, R.; Liu, Y.; Fu, S.; Cheng, Y.; Jin, K.; Ma, J.; Wan, Y.; Tian, Y. Humidity adaptive antifreeze hydrogel sensor for intelligent control and human-computer interaction. Small 2024 , 20 , 2308092..
Adelnia, H.; Ensandoost, R.; Moonshi, S.; Gavgani, J.; Vasafi, E.; Ta, H. Freeze/thawed polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels: present, past and future. Eur. Polym. J. 2022 , 164 , 110974..
Tavakoli, J.; Gascooke, J.; Xie, N.; Tang, B.; Tang, Y. Enlightening freeze-thaw process of physically cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels by aggregation-induced emission fluorogens. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2019 , 1 , 1390−1398..
Zheng, W.; Wang, L.; Jiao, H.; Wu, Z.; Zhao, Q.; Lin, T.; Ma, H.; Zhang, Z.; Xu, X.; Cao, J.; Zhong, J.; Xu, J.; Lu, B. A cost-effective, fast cooling, and efficient anti-inflammatory multilayered topological hydrogel patch for burn wound first aid. Chem. Eng. J. 2023 , 455 , 140553..
Wang, L.; Wang, W.; Wan, R.; Yao, M.; Chen, W.; Zhang, L.; Xu, J.; Liu, X.; Lu, B. All 3D-printed high-sensitivity adaptive hydrogel strain sensor for accurate plant growth monitoring. Soft Sci. 2025 , 5 , 2..
Yang, J.; Dong, Z.; Liu, H.; Tian, Y. Bioinspired self-sensing hydrogel actuators: From mechanisms to applications. Chem. Eng. J. 2025 ,512, 162743..
Chen, G.; Liang, X.; Zhang, P.; Lin, S.; Cai, C.; Yu, Z.; Liu, J. Bioinspired 3D printing of functional materials by harnessing enzyme-induced biomineralization. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2022 , 32 , 2113262..
Sanandiya, N.; Pai, A.; Seyedin, S.; Tang, F.; Thomas, S.; Xie, F. Chitosan-based electroconductive inks without chemical reaction for cost-effective and versatile 3D printing for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and strain-sensing applications. Carbohydr. Polym. 2024 , 337 , 122161..
Gao, Q.; Wang, M.; Kang, X.; Zhu, C.; Ge, M. Continuous wet-spinning of flexible and water-stable conductive PEDOT:PSS/PVA composite fibers for wearable sensors. Compos. Commun. 2020 , 17 , 134−140..
Yu, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Ruan, H.; Li, Y. High conductivity, low-hysteresis, flexible PVA hydrogel multi-functional sensors: wireless wearable sensor for health monitoring. Chem. Eng. J. 2025 , 505 , 158877..
Li, S.; Xiao, Z.; Yang, H.; Zhu, C.; Chen, G.; Zheng, J.; Ren, J.; Wang, W.; Cong, Y.; Shah, L.; Fu, J. A skin-inspired anisotropic multidimensional sensor based on low hysteresis organohydrogel with linear sensitivity and excellent robustness for directional perception. Chem. Eng. J. 2024 , 499 , 156581..
Zhao, W.; Chen, L.; Hu, S.; Shi, Z.; Gao, X.; Silberschmidt, V. Printed hydr ogel nanocomposites: fine-tuning nanostructure for anisotropic mechanical and conductive properties. Adv. Compos. Hybrid Mater. 2020 , 3 , 315−324..
Crolla, J.; Britton, M.; Espino, D.; Thomas-Seale, L. The orthotropic viscoelastic characterisation of sub-zero 3D-printed poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel. MRS Adv. 2021 , 6 , 467−471..
Niu, R.; Gong, J.; Xu, D.; Tang, T.; Sun, Z. The effect of particle shape on the structure and rheological properties of carbon-based particle suspensions. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 33 , 1550−1561..
Shen, Z.; Zhang, Z.; Zhang, N.; Li, J.; Zhou, P.; Hu, F.; Rong, Y.; Lu, B.; Gu, G. High-stretchability, ultralow-hysteresis conducting polymer hydrogel strain sensors for soft machines. Adv. Mater. 2022 , 34 , 2203650..
Cao, J.; Zhang, Z.; Wang, L.; Lin, T.; Li, H.; Zhao, Q.; Wang, H.; Liu, X.; Yang, H.; Lu, B. An adhesive, highly stretchable and low-hysteresis alginate-based conductive hydrogel strain sensing system for motion capture. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2024 , 281 , 136581..
Ko, S.; Chhetry, A.; Kim, D.; Yoon, H.; Park, J. Hysteresis-free double-network hydrogel-based strain sensor for wearable smart bioelectronics. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2022 , 14 , 31363−31372..
Wei, C.; Wang, Y.; Liang, Y.; Wu, J.; Li, F.; Luo, Q.; Lu, Y.; Liu, C.; Zhang, R.; Lu, Z.; Xu, B.; Qing, N.; Tang, L. Low-hysteresis and highly linear sensors based on environmentally stable, adhesive, and antibacterial hydrogels. J. Mater. Chem. A 2024 , 12 , 10392−10402..
Peng, S.; Guo, Q.; Thirunavukkarasu, N.; Zheng, Y.; Wang, Z.; Zheng, L.; Wu, L.; Weng, Z. Tailoring of photocurable ionogel toward high resilience and low hysteresis 3D printed versatile porous flexible sensor. Chem. Eng. J. 2022 , 439 , 135593..
Azadi, S.; Peng, S.; Moshizi, S.; Asadnia, M.; Xu, J.; Park, I.; Wang, C.; Wu, S. Biocompatible and highly stretchable PVA/AgNWs hydrogel strain sensors for human motion detection. Adv. Mater. Technol. 2020 , 5 , 2000426..
Bhattacharjee, M.; Soni, M.; Escobedo, P.; Dahiya, R. PEDOT:PSS microchannel-based highly sensitive stretchable strain sensor. Adv. Electron. Mater. 2020 , 6 , 2000445..
Liu, S.; Li, L. Ultrastretchable and self-healing double-network hydrogel for 3D printing and strain sensor. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017 , 9 , 26429−26437..
Zhang, Z.; Chen, G.; Xue, Y.; Duan, Q.; Liang, X.; Lin, T.; Wu, Z.; Tan, Y.; Zhao, Q.; Zheng, W.; Wang, L.; Wang, F.; Luo, X.; Xu, J.; Liu, J.; Lu, B. Fatigue-resistant conducting polymer hydrogels as strain sensor for underwater robotics. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2023 , 33 , 2305705..
Liu, J.; Chen, X.; Sun, B.; Guo, H.; Guo, Y.; Zhang, S.; Tao, R.; Yang, Q.; Tang, J. Stretchable strain sensor of composite hydrogels with high fatigue resistance and low hysteresis. J. Mater. Chem. A 2022 , 10 , 25564−25574..
0
Views
5
Downloads
0
CSCD
Publicity Resources
Related Articles
Related Author
Related Institution
京公网安备11010802046900号