Electrochemical and mechanical properties control in polyacrylic acid based polymer hydrogels via dual crosslinking for wearable electronics.

Due to rapid advancement in the field of electrical and electronic devices in wearable electronics and robotics technology, the demand for flexible electrode material is increasing day by day. To fabricate such an electrode material having the capability to store electrical energy and sustain maximum applied stress, poly acrylic acid-based hydrogel cross-linked via physical and chemical cross-linker was fabricated. Hydrogel loaded with 50 µL poly pyrrole cross-linked via N, N′-Methylenebisacrylamide, and Fe3+ shows the maximum peak current i.e. 0.24 mA at 1.0 V as compared to other synthesized hydrogels. The small diameter of the Nyquist plot infers the least charge transfer resistance, however, the capacitance calculated is 2.27 nF. Mechanical strength in terms of storage moduli deduces the elastic nature of synthesized hydrogel having storage moduli of 1.17 kPa which is much higher to be used as electrode material in robots because of sustaining maximum applied external stress. The high conductivity of polyacrylic acid-based hydrogel by applying external AC and DC makes it a favorable candidate to be used as a flexible electrode in wearable electronics and robotics technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]