Flexible Mussel-inspired Hydrogel with Polyaniline and Polypyrrole for Transparent Wearable Strain Sensors: Investigation of Physical Properties, Self-healing, and Electrical Conductivity

Ghazaleh Mirzaei; Akbar Mirzaei; Shahrzad Javanshir

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3473-9

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Flexible Mussel-inspired Hydrogel with Polyaniline and Polypyrrole for Transparent Wearable Strain Sensors: Investigation of Physical Properties, Self-healing, and Electrical Conductivity

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-01-13

- Flexible Mussel-inspired Hydrogel with Polyaniline and Polypyrrole for Transparent Wearable Strain Sensors: Investigation of Physical Properties, Self-healing, and Electrical Conductivity
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 1, Pages: 198-208(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  Pharmaceutical and Heterocyclic Compounds Research Laboratory, Chemistry Department, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran
- Author bio：
  
  shjavan@iust.ac.ir
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3473-9
  CLC：
- Received：22 August 2025，
  
  Revised：2025-10-03，
  
  Accepted：08 October 2025，
  
  Online First：25 December 2025，
  
  Published：15 January 2026
- Accepted：
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Mirzaei, G.; Mirzaei, A.; Javanshir, S. Flexible mussel-inspired hydrogel with polyaniline and polypyrrole for transparent wearable strain sensors: investigation of physical properties, self-healing, and electrical conductivity. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 198–208

Ghazaleh Mirzaei, Akbar Mirzaei, Shahrzad Javanshir. Flexible Mussel-inspired Hydrogel with Polyaniline and Polypyrrole for Transparent Wearable Strain Sensors: Investigation of Physical Properties, Self-healing, and Electrical Conductivity[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(1): 198-208.
Mirzaei, G.; Mirzaei, A.; Javanshir, S. Flexible mussel-inspired hydrogel with polyaniline and polypyrrole for transparent wearable strain sensors: investigation of physical properties, self-healing, and electrical conductivity. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 198–208 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3473-9.

Ghazaleh Mirzaei, Akbar Mirzaei, Shahrzad Javanshir. Flexible Mussel-inspired Hydrogel with Polyaniline and Polypyrrole for Transparent Wearable Strain Sensors: Investigation of Physical Properties, Self-healing, and Electrical Conductivity[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(1): 198-208. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3473-9.

摘要

A mussel-inspired hydrogel incorporating polydopamine (PDA)

polypyrrole (Ppy)

polyaniline (PANi) and poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA) within a polyacrylamide (PAM) network delivers high transparency (about 90%)

electrical conductivity (about 95.4×10

S/cm)

tensile strength (about 32.6 kPa)

and rapid self-healing (about 48% recovery in 1 h at 50 °C). It functions effectively as a flexible

wearable strain sensor with GF of approximately 7.44.

Abstract

Conducting hydrogels have garnered significant interest in the field of wearable electronics. However

simultaneously achieving high transparency

high conductivity

strong adhesion

and self-healing ability within a short time remains a major challenge. In this study

a multifunctional mussel-inspired hydrogel was synthesized in only 5 min

with polydopamine (PDA)-polypyrrole (Ppy)-polyaniline (PANi) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanoparticles incorporated into the polyacrylamide (PAM) network. The resulting hydrogel exhibited high transparency (about 90% light transmission in the range of 400–800 nm)

high conductivity ((95.4±0.4)×10

–4

S/cm)

tensile strength (32.60±1.03 kPa)

strain at break (904.46%±11.50%)

and adhesive strength (30–60 kPa). It also demonstrated rapid self-healing properties (about 48% strength recovery within 1 h at 50 °C) and water-dependent shape memory behavior. As a wearable strain sensor

the hydrogel successfully detected finger flexion

wrist movements

facial expression changes

and breathing with high sensitivity and stability. The calculated gauge factor (GF) was 7.44±0.31

which is higher than that of many previously reported hydrogels. Compared with previous oyster-inspired or Ppy-based hydrogels

our system showed a much shorter synthesis time

higher transparency

and enhanced multifunctionality. These findings highlight the potential of the proposed hydrogel for next-generation flexible electronics

e-skin

and biomedical monitoring devices.

关键词

Keywords

references

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