POS8-0728
A Highly Aligned, Strong and Conductive Directional Nanocomposite Hydrogel for Artificial tendons
Topic
S8. Frontiers of Functional Polymers in Biology and Medicine
When and Where
Sep 30, 2026
08:30 - 09:30
Room 301 (Grand Ballroom)
Session Chairs
Heesuk KIM
Jinhye BAE
Presenter(s)
Sanghyun Park (Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University)
Co-Author(s)
Abstract
The growing demand for artificial tendon-mimicking hydrogels has been driven by their unique potential to integrate tissue-like compliance with load-bearing functionality in soft robotics and real-time sensing platforms. However, the development of polymer-processing strategies that simultaneously deliver exceptional mechanical strength and high electrical conductivity remains a major challenge. Here, we present a flexible, highly conductive, and ultrastrong nanocomposite hydrogel by engineering a hierarchically aligned conductive architecture within a poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix. Directional freezing was employed to align matrix and fillers along the freezing direction, thereby establishing a mechanically reinforced anisotropic scaffold. A conductive polymer network was subsequently constructed within this aligned framework through temperature-controlled monomer infiltration and in situ polymerization, resulting in a continuous anisotropic conductive pathway. The resulting hydrogel exhibited outstanding load-bearing performance and fatigue resistance, confirming its suitability for long-term mechanical operation. Moreover, the composite hydrogel displayed pronounced anisotropic electrical behavior, with exceptional conductivity along the direction of alignment. Ultimately, this study presents a strategy for designing tendon-mimicking hydrogels that simultaneously achieve superior mechanical properties and high conductivity, highlighting their immense potential for applications as multifunctional directional sensors in soft robotics.
