Zeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks Enhanced Conductive Nanocomposite Hydrogels with High Stretchability and Low Hysteresis for Self-Powered Multifunctional Sensors

Abstract

Conductive hydrogels have attracted increasing attention in the field of self-powered multifunctional sensors. However, simultaneously achieving high conductivity, high tensile strain, and low hysteresis remains challenging. Here, a poly(acrylamide)−polyvinylpyrrolidone nanocomposite conductive double network hydrogel with zeolitic imidazolate frameworks-8 nanoparticles was developed. The prepared hydrogel exhibits high stretchability (>900%), low mechanical hysteresis (<7%), high conductivity, fast response, high sensitivity, high cyclic stability, and anti-freezing ability. Benefited of such high performance, it can be utilized as a flexible electrode in triboelectric nanogenerator for efficient energy harvesting. A self-powered multifunctional sensor is also demonstrated for human motion detection , pronunciation, handwriting and Morse code encryption. This work offers the potential of conductive hydrogels for applications in self-powered wearable electronics and sensors.