Flexible, high sensitive and radiation-resistant pressure-sensing hydrogel

Abstract Excellent radiation resistance is a prerequisite for pressure-sensitive hydrogels to be used in high-energy radiation environments. In this work, tannic acid-modified boron nitride nanosheet (BNNS-TA) is first prepared as the radiation-resistant additive by a facile one-step ball milling of hexagonal boron nitride and tannic acid. Then, polyacrylamide (PAAm)-based pressure-sensitive hydrogel doped with BNNS-TA and Fe3+ ions is fabricated. The ternary BNNS-TA/Fe3+/PAAm hydrogel exhibits excellent compressive strength (at least four times the compressive strength of unfilled pure PAAm hydrogel), pressure-sensitive performance (gauge factor is up to 1.4), and performance recovery due to the combination of multiple intermolecular interactions, such as covalent crosslinking, hydrogen bonds, and ion coordination interactions. The BNNS-TA/Fe3+/PAAm hydrogel can be made as a pressure sensor installed in the control circuit or attached on the human body to detect human activities accurately. More importantly, the compressive strength and the pressure-sensitive performance of the BNNS-TA/Fe3+/PAAm hydrogel can be maintained after the hydrogel is irradiated by 60Co gamma-ray at an absorbed dose of 15 kGy. As a comparison, the compressive strength of the unfilled PAAm hydrogel is only a quarter of that before irradiation. This work not only reveals a facile method to achieve the preparation of chemically modified BNNS as a promising radiation-resistant additive but also provides a novel strategy for the development of pressure-sensitive hydrogel devices in radiation environments.