A thermally responsive host-guest conductive hydrogel with self-healing properties

Conductive polymers with stimuli-responsive properties have significant potential for technological applications such as in electrical and biomedical devices, as well as stretchable electronics. In this study, we use the amphiphilic configuration property of alpha cyclodextrin (alpha CD) to demonstrate a facile strategy for the preparation of flexible polyaniline (PANI)-containing conductive hydrogel networks based on preorganized alpha CD-containing N-isopropylacrylamide (alpha CD-PNIPAM) hydrogels. These materials exhibit high conductivity (0.64 S m(-1)), excellent thermoresponsive and self-healing properties. The resulting hybrid hydrogels also contain homogeneous, interconnected macropores and exhibit perfect integration between the host phase (alpha CD-PNIPAM) and the PANI phase, which results in improved mechanical properties and remarkable stability.