Antifreezing, Ionically Conductive, Transparent, and Antidrying Carboxymethyl Chitosan Self-Healing Hydrogels as Multifunctional Sensors

Through a simple strategy of immersion in a mixed solution of water/ethylene glycol (EG)/lithium chloride (LiCl), self healing carboxymethyl chitosan (CA) hydrogels, that is, CA/N- vinylpyrrolidone-EG-Li+ hydrogels (CEH) with an ultra-low -temperature freezing resistance below -70 & DEG;C were fabricated. The introduction of electrolyte ions and small-molecule polyol also made these hydrogels highly conductive (0.8 S m(-1)) and imparted antidrying property to them, showing stable and reversible sensitivity to finger-wrist bending as well as 150 cycles of stretching. Such hydrogels also presented highly efficient self-healing ability, with a stress-strain healing efficiency of over 90%. Furthermore, the CEHbased sensors maintained a stable sensing performance over a wide range of temperatures below the freezing point (from -10 to -70 ??) and exhibited stable sensitivity to temperatures with fast response and no significant hysteresis. The present work is expected to provide a simple and sustainable route for the preparation of multifunctional antifreezing conductive hydrogels based on CA, leading to a wide range of potential applications in soft sensor devices.