Ultra-stretchable, adhesive, fatigue resistance, and anti-freezing conductive hydrogel based on gelatin/guar gum and liquid metal for dual-sensory flexible sensor and all-in-one supercapacitors

Benefiting from the tissue-like mechanical properties, conductive hydrogels have emerged as a promising candidate for manufacturing wearable electronics. However, the high water content within hydrogels will inevitably freeze at subzero temperature, causing a degradation or loss of functionality, which severely prevent their practical application in wearable electronics. Herein, an anti-freezing hydrogel integrating high conductivity, superior stretchability, and robust adhesion was fabricated by dissolving choline chloride and gallium in gelatin/guar gum network using borax as the cross-linker. Based on the synergistic effect of dynamic borate ester bonds and hydrogen bonds, the hydrogel exhibited rapid self-healing property and excellent fatigue resistance. Profiting from these fascinating characteristics, the hydrogel was assembled as strain sensor to precisely detect various human activities with high strain sensitivity and fast response time. Meanwhile, the hydrogel was demonstrated high sensitivity and rapid response to temperature, which can be used as thermal sensor to monitor temperature. Moreover, the conductive hydrogel was encapsulated into supercapacitors with high areal capacitance and favorable cycle stability. Importantly, the flexible sensor and supercapacitors still maintain stable sensing performance and good electrochemical performance even at subzero temperature. Therefore, our work broaden hydrogels application in intelligent wearable devices and energy storage in extreme environments.