Construction of Chitin-Based Composite Hydrogel via AlCl<sub>3</sub>/ZnCl<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O Ternary Molten Salt System and Its Flexible Sensing Performance
Bio-based ionic conductive hydrogels have attracted significant attention for use in wearable electronic sensors due to their inherent flexibility, ionic conductivity, and biocompatibility. However, achieving a balance between high ionic conductivity and mechanical robustness remains a significant c...
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2025-06-01
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| author | Yanjun Lv Hailong Huang Guozhong Wu Yuan Qian |
| author_facet | Yanjun Lv Hailong Huang Guozhong Wu Yuan Qian |
| author_sort | Yanjun Lv |
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| description | Bio-based ionic conductive hydrogels have attracted significant attention for use in wearable electronic sensors due to their inherent flexibility, ionic conductivity, and biocompatibility. However, achieving a balance between high ionic conductivity and mechanical robustness remains a significant challenge. In this study, we present a simple yet effective strategy for fabricating a polyelectrolyte–chitin double-network hydrogel (CAA) via the copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) and acrylic acid (AA) with chitin in an AlCl<sub>3</sub>-ZnCl<sub>2</sub>-H<sub>2</sub>O ternary molten salt system. The synergistic interactions of dynamic metal ion coordination bonds and hydrogen bonding impart the CAA hydrogel with outstanding mechanical properties, including a fracture strain of 1765.5% and a toughness of 494.4 kJ/m<sup>3</sup>, alongside a high ionic conductivity of 1.557 S/m. Moreover, the hydrogel exhibits excellent thermal stability across a wide temperature range (−50 °C to 25 °C). When employed as a wearable sensor, the hydrogel demonstrates a rapid response time (<0.2 s), remarkable durability over 95 cycles with less than 5% resistance drift, and high sensitivity in detecting various human joint motions (e.g., finger, knee, and elbow bending). It presents a scalable strategy for biomass-derived flexible electronics that harmonizes mechanical robustness with electromechanical performance. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3a72c06f10ed41d69a3298e504684ffc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2310-2861 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Gels |
| spelling | doaj-art-3a72c06f10ed41d69a3298e504684ffc2025-08-20T03:58:27ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612025-06-0111750110.3390/gels11070501Construction of Chitin-Based Composite Hydrogel via AlCl<sub>3</sub>/ZnCl<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O Ternary Molten Salt System and Its Flexible Sensing PerformanceYanjun Lv0Hailong Huang1Guozhong Wu2Yuan Qian3School of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghaitech University, Shanghai 201210, ChinaDepartment of Molten Salt Chemistry and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, ChinaSchool of Physical Science and Technology, Shanghaitech University, Shanghai 201210, ChinaDepartment of Molten Salt Chemistry and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, ChinaBio-based ionic conductive hydrogels have attracted significant attention for use in wearable electronic sensors due to their inherent flexibility, ionic conductivity, and biocompatibility. However, achieving a balance between high ionic conductivity and mechanical robustness remains a significant challenge. In this study, we present a simple yet effective strategy for fabricating a polyelectrolyte–chitin double-network hydrogel (CAA) via the copolymerization of acrylamide (AM) and acrylic acid (AA) with chitin in an AlCl<sub>3</sub>-ZnCl<sub>2</sub>-H<sub>2</sub>O ternary molten salt system. The synergistic interactions of dynamic metal ion coordination bonds and hydrogen bonding impart the CAA hydrogel with outstanding mechanical properties, including a fracture strain of 1765.5% and a toughness of 494.4 kJ/m<sup>3</sup>, alongside a high ionic conductivity of 1.557 S/m. Moreover, the hydrogel exhibits excellent thermal stability across a wide temperature range (−50 °C to 25 °C). When employed as a wearable sensor, the hydrogel demonstrates a rapid response time (<0.2 s), remarkable durability over 95 cycles with less than 5% resistance drift, and high sensitivity in detecting various human joint motions (e.g., finger, knee, and elbow bending). It presents a scalable strategy for biomass-derived flexible electronics that harmonizes mechanical robustness with electromechanical performance.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/7/501chitinAlCl<sub>3</sub>-ZnCl<sub>2</sub> molten saltcomposite hydrogelflexible sensor |
| spellingShingle | Yanjun Lv Hailong Huang Guozhong Wu Yuan Qian Construction of Chitin-Based Composite Hydrogel via AlCl<sub>3</sub>/ZnCl<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O Ternary Molten Salt System and Its Flexible Sensing Performance Gels chitin AlCl<sub>3</sub>-ZnCl<sub>2</sub> molten salt composite hydrogel flexible sensor |
| title | Construction of Chitin-Based Composite Hydrogel via AlCl<sub>3</sub>/ZnCl<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O Ternary Molten Salt System and Its Flexible Sensing Performance |
| title_full | Construction of Chitin-Based Composite Hydrogel via AlCl<sub>3</sub>/ZnCl<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O Ternary Molten Salt System and Its Flexible Sensing Performance |
| title_fullStr | Construction of Chitin-Based Composite Hydrogel via AlCl<sub>3</sub>/ZnCl<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O Ternary Molten Salt System and Its Flexible Sensing Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Construction of Chitin-Based Composite Hydrogel via AlCl<sub>3</sub>/ZnCl<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O Ternary Molten Salt System and Its Flexible Sensing Performance |
| title_short | Construction of Chitin-Based Composite Hydrogel via AlCl<sub>3</sub>/ZnCl<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O Ternary Molten Salt System and Its Flexible Sensing Performance |
| title_sort | construction of chitin based composite hydrogel via alcl sub 3 sub zncl sub 2 sub h sub 2 sub o ternary molten salt system and its flexible sensing performance |
| topic | chitin AlCl<sub>3</sub>-ZnCl<sub>2</sub> molten salt composite hydrogel flexible sensor |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/7/501 |
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