鞐瓣惮/靷绊暀
狠狠撸 Research 1000
| Kim Yong-hyun | Developed a Versatile Hydrogel That Regenerates and Generates Electricity | |||
| 鞛戩劚鞛� | 雽赌鞕疙檷氤挫劶韯� | 鞛戩劚鞚� | 2025-08-06 |
| 臁绊殞靾� | 126 | ||
| Kim Yong-hyun | Developed a Versatile Hydrogel That Regenerates and Generates Electricity | |||||
 |
雽赌鞕疙檷氤挫劶韯� |  |
2025-08-06 |  |
126 |
A Sensor That Stretches Like Skin and Even Generates Power from Seawater 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;Development of a 鈥榁ersatile Hydrogel鈥�
-Professor Kim Yong-hyun鈥檚 Team at 狠狠撸 Presents a Next-Generation Material for Wearable Sensors
A next generation 鈥渁ll-in-one hydrogel鈥�, which is highly sensitive to electrical signals, stretches like human skin, and even generates electricity when immersed in seawater, has been developed by a Korean research team.
A research team led by Professor Kim Yong-hyun (Department of Display and Semiconductor Engineering) at 狠狠撸 has developed a high-performance hydrogel by combining xanthan gum, a natural polymer, with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), a biocompatible polymer. This new material maximizes both mechanical strength and electrical conductivity.
The key achievement of this research lies in overcoming the long-standing trade-off between mechanical strength and ionic conductivity in conventional hydrogel studies. The team accomplished this by introducing a proprietary 鈥渄ual crosslinking and ion treatment鈥� process. Specifically, they applied dual crosslinking鈥�a combination of physical and chemical bonds鈥�to reinforce the hydrogel鈥檚 internal framework. This was followed by an ion treatment process that not only enhanced the material鈥檚 conductivity but also further stabilized its structure.
As a result, the developed hydrogel is over 20 times stronger than conventional types and can stretch more than four times its original length (with an elongation of 410.2%). It also achieved exceptionally high ionic conductivity (5.23 S/m). Furthermore, it demonstrated minimal signal distortion (hysteresis) during repeated movements, ensuring excellent stability and reliability as a sensor material.
Building on these properties, the research team successfully applied the hydrogel as a wearable sensor by attaching it to the skin to monitor various human movements. The sensor accurately detected both large joint motions鈥�such as finger and knee movements鈥�and subtle physiological signals, including pulse, breathing, and swallowing. When the collected data was analyzed using artificial intelligence (AI), the sensor achieved a high classification accuracy of 84.9%, proving its potential as a human-machine interface (HMI).
In addition, the team demonstrated that hydrogel could serve as a power generator for sustainable energy. Using the principle of osmotic power, electricity was generated as ions moved between the hydrogel and seawater due to the difference in salt concentration. The team successfully connected multiple hydrogel units in series to light an LED lamp, confirming the material鈥檚 potential as an eco-friendly energy source.
The results of this study were published in the internationally renowned journal <Chemical Engineering Journal> (IF = 13.2), under the title: 鈥淗igh-performance PVA/xanthan gum hydrogel via dual cross-linking with ionic treatment for wearable sensing and hydrovoltaic energy generation,鈥漴ecognizing the academic significance of the research in the field of chemical engineering.
Professor Kim Yong-hyun, who led the research, stated, 鈥淭he hydrogel we developed surpasses the limitations of existing materials by simultaneously achieving outstanding mechanical properties and high conductivity. We expect it to contribute to the advancement of various cutting-edge technologies, including next-generation wearable devices capable of precise biosignal detection, as well as eco-friendly energy devices utilizing ocean-based power generation. 鈥�