Microfluidic Fabrication of Conductive Hydrogel Optical Fibers with Controlled Swelling for Enhanced Performance
발표자
싱 아르티 (부산대학교)
연구책임자
윤진환 (서울시립대학교)
공동저자
싱 아르티 (부산대학교), 윤진환 (서울시립대학교)
초록
내용
We developed conductive hydrogel optical fibers (CHOFs) through microfluidic fabrication of double-network acrylamide-alginate hydrogels that integrate optical waveguiding, ionic conduction, and stretchability for bioelectronics applications. By adding sodium acrylate to the cladding layer, we precisely controlled the swelling ratio contrast between core and cladding, thereby preserving the refractive index contrast necessary for light confinement even after immersion in NaCl solution to introduce ionic conductivity. The resulting fibers exhibit low optical loss (0.088 dB/cm), high ionic conductivity (26.6 mS/cm), and excellent stretchability (321% elongation). The CHOFs function as strain sensors with a gauge factor of 1.21 while maintaining optical transmission, successfully tracking human motion in wearable applications.