Ni Tang
School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China; Innovation Institute, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China
Zhan Peng
Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; Nano Interface Center for Energy(NICE), School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
Rulei Guo
Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; Nano Interface Center for Energy(NICE), School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
Meng An
State Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; Nano Interface Center for Energy (NICE), School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, 6 Xuefuzhong Road, Weiyangdaxueyuan District of Xi'an, 710021, China
Xiandong Chen
Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; Nano Interface Center for Energy(NICE), School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
Xiaobo Li
Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; Nano Interface Center for Energy(NICE), School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
Nuo Yang
Key Laboratory of Coal Combustion, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; Nano Interface Center for Energy(NICE), School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University
of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; School of Material and Energy, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China
Jianfeng Zang
School of Optical and Electronic Information, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China; Innovation Institute, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and
Technology (HUST), Wuhan 430074, P. R. China
As the interface between human and machine becomes blurred, hydrogel incorporated electronics and devices have emerged to be a new class of flexible/stretchable electronic and ionic devices due to their extraordinary properties, such as softness, mechanically robustness, and biocompatibility. However, heat dissipation in these devices could be a critical issue and remains unexplored. Here, we report the experimental measurements and equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of thermal conduction in polyacrylamide (PAAm) hydrogels. The thermal conductivity of PAAm hydrogels can be modulated by both the effective crosslinking density and water content in hydrogels. The effective crosslinking density dependent thermal conductivity in hydrogels varies from 0.33 to 0.51 Wm−1K−1, giving a 54% enhancement. We attribute the crosslinking effect to the competition between the increased conduction pathways and the enhanced phonon scattering effect. Moreover, water content can act as filler in polymers which lead to nearly 40% enhancement in thermal conductivity in PAAm hydrogels with water content vary from 23 to 88 wt %. Furthermore, we find the thermal conductivity of PAAm hydrogel is insensitive to temperature in the range of 25−40 °C. Our study offers fundamental understanding of thermal transport in soft materials and provides design guidance for hydrogel-based devices.