Highly Conductive and High-tensile Methacrylated Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Strain Sensing Applications

Meng Zhang; Xu-Dong Yu

doi:10.1007/s10118-025-3482-8

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Highly Conductive and High-tensile Methacrylated Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Strain Sensing Applications

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-01-13

- Highly Conductive and High-tensile Methacrylated Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Strain Sensing Applications
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 1, Pages: 127-139(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  Hebei Provincial Key Laboratory of Photoelectric Control on Surface and Interface, and College of Science, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang 050080, China
- Author bio：
  
  chemyxd@163.com
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-025-3482-8
  CLC：
- Received：12 August 2025，
  
  Accepted：13 October 2025，
  
  Online First：22 December 2025，
  
  Published：15 January 2026
- Accepted：
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Zhang, M.; Yu, X. D. Highly conductive and high-tensile methacrylated hyaluronic acid hydrogels for strain sensing applications. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 127–139

Meng Zhang, Xu-Dong Yu. Highly Conductive and High-tensile Methacrylated Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Strain Sensing Applications[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(1): 127-139.
Zhang, M.; Yu, X. D. Highly conductive and high-tensile methacrylated hyaluronic acid hydrogels for strain sensing applications. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 127–139 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3482-8.

Meng Zhang, Xu-Dong Yu. Highly Conductive and High-tensile Methacrylated Hyaluronic Acid Hydrogels for Strain Sensing Applications[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(1): 127-139. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-025-3482-8.

摘要

A novel hydrogel sensor by copolymerizing modified hyaluronic acid

olefin monomers

and acrylic acid. The hydrogel exhibits excellent mechanical properties (stress 1200 kPa

strain 1390%)

high electrical conductivity (5.33 mS/cm)

good sensitivity (GF=2.55) and efficient self-healing properties.

Abstract

Owing to their good biocompatibility

polysaccharide hydrogels have br

oad application prospects in the field of flexible strain sensors. However

there are still significant challenges in the preparation of polysaccharide hydrogels with good mechanical properties. MCA-LiCl hydrogels were prepared by introducing methacrylated hyaluronic acid (MeHA) into the polymer network in the presence of acrylic acid (AA)

acryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (CATAC)

and metal ions. The polymer network not only has a chemically cross-linked network and a tough network structure

but also benefits from a variety of supramolecular interactions

such as hydrogen bonding and coordination covalent bonding

resulting in excellent mechanical properties

with an elongation at break of 1390%

a tensile strength of up to 1200 kPa

a toughness of 9.4546 MJ/m

and adhesive properties towards various substrates. At the same time

the hydrogel has a high conductivity (5.33 mS/cm) and high strain-sensing sensitivity (Gauge factor=2.55). The flexible strain sensor assembled from the prepared MCA-LiCl hydrogel can be used to detect human movements

from micro-expressions (smiles

swallowing) to pulse signals and other physiological activities

as well as large-scale joint movements (wrists

elbows

knees

fingers

etc

realizing the real-time monitoring of full-scale human movements. The prepared hydrogels have potential applications in wearable devices

electronic skin

and strain-sensor components.

关键词

Keywords

references

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