1D Nanomaterial-Reinforced IPN Hydrogels with Enhanced Mechanical and Electrical Properties

1D Nanomaterial-Reinforced IPN Hydrogels with Enhanced Mechanical and Electrical Properties | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article 1D Nanomaterial-Reinforced IPN Hydrogels with Enhanced Mechanical and Electrical Properties Zeliha Cansu Canbek Ozdil, Elif Cirit, Aleyna Isler, Burak Ozcan, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6115437/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Hydrogels, composed of cross-linked polymer networks with high water content, are widely explored for biomedical applications due to their tunable properties and biocompatibility; however, their limited mechanical strength restricts their use in load-bearing or dynamic environments, a challenge that can be addressed by incorporating conductive nanoparticles to enhance both mechanical resilience and electrical conductivity. In this work, we unveil the formation mechanism of the silver nanowire (AgNW) reinforced Acrylic Acid/Acrylamide/Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (AgNW/P(AAm-co-AAc-co-PEGDA)) hydrogels. We investigate the impact of AgNW concentration on the structural, mechanical, and electrical properties of the hydrogel network. Our findings reveal that above 6 wt% AgNW concentration, nanowire moieties form a secondary physical network, which significantly enhances the storage modulus (G′) and electrical conductivity (s). At 8 wt% AgNW, the hydrogel achieves a conductivity of nearly 440 S/m at 6000 MHz, coupled with a G′ of 4 kPa, demonstrating its potential for applications requiring both mechanical resilience and high conductivity. Further doping (>8 wt%), on the other hand, leads to an aggregation that results in a decrease in the conductivity. The synergistic effect of AgNW reinforcement and the interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) structure enhances the hydrogel’s stability, ensuring long-term performance in dynamic aqueous environments. Frequency-dependent electrical measurements further indicate tunable conductivity, making these hydrogels promising candidates for applications in flexible electronics, bioelectronic interfaces, and implantable sensing systems. Physical sciences/Materials science/Materials for devices/Electronic devices Physical sciences/Chemistry/Polymer chemistry/Polymer synthesis Physical sciences/Nanoscience and technology/Nanoscale materials/Nanowires Silver nanowire pH-responsive hydrogels Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files AgNWpurification.mp4 Silver nanowire decantation Supp.InfoConductiveIPNHydrogelsFinal.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6115437","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":430351502,"identity":"12813874-4b93-4f9e-972d-67149b57614e","order_by":0,"name":"Zeliha Cansu Canbek 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