Liquid-metals-induced formation of MXene/polyacrylamide composite organohydrogels for wearable flexible electronics

Organohydrogels have demonstrated superior environmental adaptability and frost resistance compared to conventional hydrogels, thereby prompting considerable interests in the development and design of innovative organohydrogels. Herein, we report an effective one-pot method for fabricating MXene/polyacrylamide (MXene/PAM) composite organohydrogel (MAOH) by employing Ga liquid metals (Ga LMs) as a highly reactive component in the induced free radical polymerization reaction, without the need for additional heating or cross-linking agents. This synthetic protocol addresses the time-consuming and organic solvent waste concerns associated with traditional solvent displacement methods for organohydrogel preparation. The incorporation of MXene not only highly enhances the conductivity but also confers improved mechanical properties of MAOH. The MAOH exhibits excellent environmental adaptability (> 7 d), sustained moisture retention, remarkable self-healing capabilities, and outstanding mechanical properties under low temperatures (−20 °C). It demonstrates exceptional performance in micro-motion monitoring, rapid response time (125 ms), superior stretchability, and a broad range of strains (0.3%–600%). Therefore, the designed MAOH has great potential for applications in diverse fields such as prosthetics, electronic skin, human–machine interaction, and smart terminals.