Fabrication of Mechanically Enhanced Self-Healing Hydrogels Based on the Synergistic Effect of Curcumin and CMC-Na for Strain-Sensing Applications

These issues often lead to irreversible degradation of sensing performance, thereby limiting their further application. In this study, a self-healing hydrogel was fabricated for strain sensors by combining Schiff base reactions with metal coordination interactions.

Sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na) was introduced as a functional reinforcement phase, and an optimal CMC-Na content of 1.0 wt % was found to simultaneously enhance both the electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. The resulting PAA/PEI/CMC-Na–Cur–Al³⁺ hydrogel exhibits an ionic conductivity of 1.07 S/m and a tensile strength of 77.12 kPa, yielding an approximately 5-fold enhancement compared to the hydrogel without CMC-Na.