Herein, we demonstrate a ternary
ionic hydrogel sensor consisting of tannic acid, sodium alginate,
and covalent cross-linked polyacrylamide as skin-mountable and wearable
sensors. Based on the multiple weak H-bonds and synergistic effects
between the three components, the as-prepared hybrid hydrogel exhibits
ultrastretchability with high elasticity, good self-healing, excellent
conformability, and high self-adhesiveness to diverse substrates both
in air and underwater. More importantly, the ternary hydrogel exhibits
high strain sensitivity especially under subtle strains with a gauge
factor of 2.0, which is close to the theoretical value of the ionic
hydrogel sensors; an extremely large workable range of strain (0.05–2100%);
and a low operating voltage 0.07 V. Consequently, the sensor demonstrates
superior sensing performance for real-time monitoring of the large
and subtle human motions, including limb motions, swallowing, smiling,
and wrist pulse. Therefore, it is believed that the STP hydrogel has
great potential applications in health monitoring, smart wearable
devices, and soft robots.
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