Conductive Polyaniline Hydrogel Featuring High Toughness and Low Hysteresis

Lian-Jie Zhao; Ning Tang; Xiao-Ting Wang; Min-Hui Li; Jun Hu

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3283-0

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Conductive Polyaniline Hydrogel Featuring High Toughness and Low Hysteresis

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2025-07-14

- Conductive Polyaniline Hydrogel Featuring High Toughness and Low Hysteresis
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 43, Issue 4, Pages: 581-587(2025)
- Affiliations：
  
  a.Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
  b.National Engineering Lab for Pulp and Paper, China National Pulp and Paper Research Institute Co. Ltd., Beijing 100102, China
  c.Chimie ParisTech, PSL University, CNRS, Institut de Recherche de Chimie Paris, 11 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris 75005, France
- Author bio：
  
  min-hui.li@chimieparistech.psl.eu (M.H.L.)
  jhu@mail.buct.edu.cn (J.H.)
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3283-0
  CLC：
- Received：29 October 2024，
  
  Revised：2024-12-05，
  
  Accepted：12 December 2024，
  
  Online First：13 February 2025，
  
  Published：01 April 2025
- Accepted：
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Zhao, L. J.; Tang, N.; Wang, X. T.; Li, M. H.; Hu, J. Conductive polyaniline hydrogel featuring high toughness and low hysteresis. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 581–587

Lian-Jie Zhao, Ning Tang, Xiao-Ting Wang, et al. Conductive Polyaniline Hydrogel Featuring High Toughness and Low Hysteresis[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(4): 581-587.
Zhao, L. J.; Tang, N.; Wang, X. T.; Li, M. H.; Hu, J. Conductive polyaniline hydrogel featuring high toughness and low hysteresis. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2025, 43, 581–587 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3283-0.

Lian-Jie Zhao, Ning Tang, Xiao-Ting Wang, et al. Conductive Polyaniline Hydrogel Featuring High Toughness and Low Hysteresis[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2025, 43(4): 581-587. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3283-0.

摘要

We propose a molecular entanglement approach for the fabrication of polyaniline hydrogel featuring high fracture strength of 0.75 MPa

toughness of 4.81 MJ·m-3

and low energy dissipation ratio (28.2% when stretching to 300%)

which can be employed as a strain sensor to monitor movements of human joints.

Abstract

Polyaniline (PANi) hydrogels have a wide range of

applications in artificial skin

flexible robotics

and movement monitoring. Nevertheless

limited by the modulus mismatch between rigid PANi and the soft hydrogel matrix

the high strength and toughness of the PANi hydrogel are mutually exclusive. Although the introduction of sacrificial bonds into the hydrogel network can alleviate this contradiction to a certain extent

it always causes pronounced energy hysteresis during hydrogel deformation. Inspired by the energy storage and release of macroscopic springs

in this work

we propose a molecular entanglement approach for the fabrication of PANi hydrogels featuring high toughness and low hysteresis

where flexible poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) is entangled with chemically cross-linked poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as a hydrogel matrix

and rigid PANi as a conductive filler. The resultant PAA/PEG/PANi hydrogel exhibited high mechanical properties (fracture strength of 0.75 MPa and toughness of 4.81 MJ·m

−3

) and a low energy dissipation ratio (28.2% when stretching to 300%). Moreover

the PAA/PEG/PANi hydrogel possesses a good electrical response to external forces and can be employed as a strain sensor to monitor human joint movements by producing specific electrical signals. This work provides a straightforward strategy for preparing tough conductive PANi hydrogels with low hysteresis

showing potential for the development of healthcare devices.

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