| In today’s world, the progress of wearable tools has gained increasing momentum. Notably, the demand for
stretchable strain sensors has considerably increased owing to various potential and emerging applications like
human motion monitoring, soft robotics, prosthetics, and electronic skin. Hydrogels possess excellent biocompatibility, flexibility, and stretchability that render them ideal candidates for flexible/wearable substrates.
Among them, enormous efforts were focused on the progress of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels to realize
multifunctional wearable sensing through using additives/nanofllers/functional groups to modify the hydrogel
network. Herein, this review offers an up-to-date and comprehensive summary of the research progress of PVA
hydrogel-based wearable sensors in view of their properties, strain sensory effciency, and potential applications,
followed by specifcally highlighting their probes using metallic/non-metallic, liquid metal (LM), 2D materials,
bio-nanomaterials, and polymer nanofllers. Indeed, flexible electrodes and strain/pressure sensing performance
of designed PVA hydrogels for their effective sensing are described. The representative cases are carefully
selected and discussed regarding the construction, merits and demerits, respectively. Finally, the necessity and
requirements for future advances of conductive and stretchable hydrogels engaged in the wearable strain sensors
are also presented, followed by opportunities and challenges. |