Systematically microengineered conductive hydrogels

Electrically conductive hydrogels are important materials with applications ranging from bioelectronics to cardiac tissue engineering. In this project, we will explore novel strategies for generating microengineered conductive hydrogels based on direct laser writing and electrospinning. We will in particular explore the resolution limits of fabricating conductive hydrogels with the different methods, leading to limits in conductivity and in the function of electrochemical transistors (ECTs), in which the materials will be incorporated. Detailed analysis of the structure-function relationship, e.g., dependency of electrical conductivity on branching of conductive channels and scaling of conductivity with decreasing size of the material, will be explored and strategies for integration in ECTs will be investigated.