Self-adhesive, Transparent, Conductive Hydrogels from Electrospun Core-shell Nanofibers

Conductive hydrogels as flexible electronics hold great potential applications in wearable devices, soft robotics, and biomedical healthcare. However, poor surface adhesion and dehydration during long-term work limit their practical applications. Herein, poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was polymerized and coated on the surface of electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibers (PANnfs) and formed with core-shell structure one-dimensional nanofibers (PEDOT@PANnfs). The PEDOT@PANnfs formed a conductive network that enhanced the conductive hydrogel mechanically and electrically. The as-prepared hydrogels showed substantial mechanical properties (412.61% fracture strain and 58.52 kPa fracture stress). Furthermore, the hydrogel exhibited excellent anti-drying properties and a robust self-adhesion strength to various substrates. These results indicate that the proposed hydrogel is a promising material for applications in multiple fields, including flexible electrodes, biosensors, and wearable devices.