Facile synthesis of self-healing and layered sodium alginate/polyacrylamide hydrogel promoted by dynamic hydrogen bond

• Published in: Carbohydrate polymers Vol. 256; p. 117580
• Main Authors: Zhao, Dingwei, Feng, Mi, Zhang, Ling, He, Bin, Chen, Xinyan, Sun, Jian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 15.03.2021
• Subjects: Hydrogel; hydrogels; hydrogen; Hydrogen bond; hydrogen bonding; microstructure; polyacrylamide; Self-healing; Semi-IPN; sodium alginate; tensile strength; Self-healing; Hydrogel; Semi-IPN; Hydrogen bond
• ISSN: 0144-8617; 1879-1344; 1879-1344
• DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2020.117580

The layered hydrogel was prepared from polyacrylamide and sodium alginate. The PAMSA-15 hydrogel possesses a self-healing capacity of 99 % with sprayed by a few of water. The tensile strength can be improved to 266 kPa because of layered structure. [Display omitted] •Sodium alginate molecules can self-assemble to form layered structure.•PAMSA hydrogels have the layered structure compared to the traditional porous hydrogels.•The simultaneous improvement of the mechanical strength and self-healing properties of hydrogels is achieved. Hydrogels are widely used in many fields but generally suffer from low mechanical strength and poor self-healing performance. Here, a novel and facile method was developed to prepare a semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) hydrogel with layered structure and improved properties based on sodium alginate (SA) and polyacrylamide (PAM). Systematic characterizations revealed a formation mechanism of layered structure via hydrogen bonds (HBs) promoted self-assembly of SA in the porous PAM matrix. Also, HBs can also display a key role in enhancing self-healing of the hydrogel, by which the hydrogel possesses a self-healing capacity of 99 % with sprayed by a few of water. Moreover, the layered semi-IPN structure makes the tensile strength of PAMSA hydrogel reach 266 kPa. The fabricated PAMSA hydrogel with layered microstructure containing SA provides a protocol to broaden the functionality and variety of the hydrogels.