Gradiently Foaming Ultrasoft Hydrogel with Stop Holes for Highly Deformable, Crack‐Resistant and Sensitive Conformal Human‐Machine Interfaces

• DOI: 10.1002/adma.202314163
• Publication Date: 2024-02-29T23:39:45Z
• Authors: Zengyu Hui; Zhao Zhang; Yurong Wang; Runrun Zhang; Xin Liu; Mingjie Jiang; Feng Ju; Wenteng Hou; Zhongming Xia; Deya Wang; Pengfei Wang; Yangyang Pei; Ren Yan; Yan Zhang; Qiang Chen; Wei Huang; Gengzhi Sun
• Keywords: Robustness

Abstract Hydrogels are considered as promising materials for human‐machine interfaces (HMIs) owing to their merits of tailorable mechanical and electrical properties; nevertheless, it remains challenging simultaneously achieve ultrasoftness, good robustness high sensitivity, which the pre‐requisite requirements wearable sensing applications. Herein, first time, this work proposes a universal phase‐transition‐induced bubbling strategy fabricate ultrasoft gradient foam‐shaped hydrogels (FSHs) with stop holes deformability, crack‐resistance sensitive conformal HMIs. As typical system, FSH based on polyacrylamide/sodium alginate system shows an ultralow Young's modulus (1.68 kPa), increased sustainable strain (1411%), enhanced fracture toughness (915.6 J m −2 ), improved tensile sensitivity (21.77), compressive (65.23 kPa −1 ). The FSHs used precisely acquiring identifying gesture commands operator remotely control surgical robot endoscopy electric ship in first‐person perspective cruising, feeding crabs monitoring environmental change real‐time.