Development of polyvinyl alcohol/carrageenan hydrogels and fibers via KOH treatment for Morse code information transmission.

To solve the inherent problems of conductive hydrogels, such as relatively low mechanical properties and fatigue resistance, inability to work after water loss, and difficulty weaving. In this study, the borax-crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol/k-carrageenan (kC) conducting hydrogels (BPK KOH) were prepared by a simple one-pot method, and KOH treatment was used instead of the cumbersome and time-consuming freeze-thaw cycle to improve the comprehensive properties. The KOH treatment increased the hydrogel hydrogen bonding content by 7.72 % and synergized with the induction of kC by K+ to enhance the tensile and compressive strengths by 8.12 and 34.6 times, respectively. Meanwhile, the BPK KOH hydrogel's fatigue resistance and shape recovery after water loss were improved. Additionally, the BPK KOH hydrogels can be monitored for finger bending, showing clear and stable differences in electrical signals. BPK KOH hydrogels combined with Morse code realize applications in information transmission and encryption/decryption. Notably, introducing KOH ensures the molding and preparation of BPK KOH hydrogel fibers while having good signal responsiveness and monitoring ability. More importantly, it can be woven into fabrics that can be loaded with heavy weights, which has the potential to be directly applied in smart wearables. This work provides new ideas for applying flexible sensors and wearable smart textiles. [Display omitted] • The KOH treatment can replace the traditional freeze-thaw cycles and improve the comprehensive properties of the hydrogels. • Hydrogen bonding and densely crosslinked network structure endow BPK KOH hydrogels with good mechanical properties. • The sensors assembled by BPK KOH hydrogels combined with Morse code to achieve information transfer and encryption/decryption. • Wet spinning confirms BPK composite system's spinnability, while KOH treatment similarly affects BPK hydrogel fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]