Fully printed flexible smart hybrid hydrogels

• Main Authors: Zhou, Yang, Layani, Michael, Wang, Shancheng, Hu, Peng, Ke, Yujie, Magdassi, Shlomo, Long, Yi
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science & Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: 3D Printing; Hydrogel; Engineering::Materials
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/85243; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/49181
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

A printable hybrid hydrogel is fabricated by embedding poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) microparticles within a water‐rich silica‐alumina(Si/Al)‐based gel matrix. The hybrid gel holds water content of up to 70 wt%, due to its unique Si/Al matrix. The hybrid hydrogel can respond to both heat and electrical stimuli, and can be directly printed layer‐by‐layer using a commercial 3‐dimensional printer, without requiring any curing. The hybrid ink is printed onto a transparent, flexible conductive electrode composed of silver nanoparticles and sustains bending angles of up to 180°, which enables patterning of various flexible devices such as smart windows and a 3D optical waveguide valve.