Tough and flexible conductive triple network hydrogels based on agarose/polyacrylamide/polyvinyl alcohol and poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate

Herein, we demonstrate a simple and cost-effective way to fabricate conductive triple network hydrogels based on agarose (Ag), polyacrylamide (PAM) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with a combination of physical–chemical crosslinked networks. The conductivity was generated by doping poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) into the triple network matrix of Ag-PAM-PVA. All hydrogels were homogeneous in the swollen state and incorporation of PEDOT:PSS did not influence the morphology significantly on a microscale, (light microscopy and cryogenic low-vacuum SEM). On the nanoscale, small-angle X-ray scattering showed some differences between hydrogels with/without PEDOT:PSS and also between double/triple networks. The tensile and compressive properties were enhanced at a lower concentration of PEDOT:PSS, with a maximum tensile strength of 0.47 MPa, at an elongation of 119%. Fortunately, all hydrogels have shown conductivity in the range of 0.3−1.5 mS cm−1 which is comparable with the conductivity of skin tissues and hence they can be conveniently optimized for use in biosensors or other devices related to skin/internal tissues. © 2021 Society of Industrial Chemistry.