Silver oxide integrated ionic polymer composite for wearable sensing and water purification

Abstract

• The flower-shaped silver oxide (Ag 2 O) attached PVDF/PVP/ionic liquid ionic polymer composites (IPCs) were designed for wearable sensing and water purification. • The Ag 2 O-IPC attached to the wrist demonstrated remarkably high sensitivity (ΔR/R) values of 50 to the wrist movement. • The Ag 2 O-based IPC recorded a significant reduction of TDS from sewage water from 3405 ppm to 1035 ppm. • The Ag 2 O-based IPC elevated the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the sewage water from 1.2 mg/l to 6.8 mg/l and removed approximately 87.38 % phosphate from sewage water. Integrating metal nanoparticles (NPs) with ionic polymer blends/composites showed immense interest for their potential in wearable sensors, soft robotic arms, flexible man-machine interfaces of biomedical devices, and water purification applications. However, conventional NPs attached ionic polymer composites exhibit limitations such as low sensitivity (ΔR/R), low total dissolved solids (TDS) reduction, and low phosphate (PO4-P) removal rate. Herein, ionic polymer composites (IPCs) using flower-shaped silver oxide (Ag 2 O) attached Poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/ polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/ionic liquid (IL) were designed and developed for wearable sensing and water purification. The IPCs demonstrated remarkably high ΔR/R values of 50, 10, and 3.5 corresponding to the wrist movement of 50°, finger movement of 180°, and chin movements respectively. The Ag 2 O-based IPC recorded a significant reduction of TDS from sewage water from 3405 ppm to 1035 ppm, elevated the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the sewage water from 1.2 mg/l to 6.8 mg/l, and removed approximately 87.38% phosphate from sewage water. Due to the uniform distribution of Ag 2 O within pores of IPC, it demonstrated enhanced performance for wearable and wastewater treatment applications.