Self-recoverable and mechanical-reinforced hydrogel based on hydrophobic interaction with self-healable and conductive properties

Abstract Developing ultrahigh stretchable, tough and self-healing electronic devices is the key component for the artificial intelligence apparatus which can produce high mechanical properties and prolong the service life. However, it has been a difficult issue to upsurge the mechanical property of hydrogel materials without declining their stretching, and toughness. Herein, we developed high stretchable and recoverable poly( e -caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly( e -caprolactone)/poly(acrylic acid) based Ac-PCEC/PAA-Fe(III) hydrogels with self-healable, conductive, and enhanced mechanical properties. Mechanical analysis indicates that Ac-PCEC/PAA-Fe(III) hydrogels have superior recoverable property, improved extensibility (4592 %), enhanced mechanical strength (0.38 MPa), and higher compressive performance. Simultaneously, the developed hydrogels are endowed with tunable mechanical properties by controlling the proportion of components. In addition, the designed hydrogels also exhibit self-healing and conductive properties due to the dynamic interactions (metal ions coordination bonds and hydrogen bonds) and conductivity, respectively. We hypothesize that the mechanical-reinforced, self-recoverable, self-healable and conductive hydrogels could be employed to large deformable electronics.