Inspired by the hard-shelled pangolins, a bionic hydrogel structure with hard nano silver armor and soft interior was fabricated with outstanding tensile strength and toughness, excellent electrical conductivity and good antibacterial properties.
Hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties and high
conductivity
are key materials for the development of flexible electronic devices,
smart soft robots, and so forth. However, the preparation of high-performance
conductive hydrogels remains a challenge. Enlightened by the strengthening
mechanism of skeletal muscles, a green muscle-like conductive hydrogel
was prepared through a repeated mechanical training process. Using
cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) as the fiber reinforcing source, partial
depolymerized enzyme hydrolyzed lignin as the interfacial binding
agent, and Ag+ as the conducting medium in a polyvinyl
alcohol (PVA) matrix, the prepared composite hydrogel exhibited anisotropic
high strength, high toughness, and excellent conductivity. Through
the introduction of double physical enhancement networks and the adoption
of a mechanical training method that mimics the muscle strengthening
principle, the enhancement effect of CNFs was maximally demonstrated
in the PVA composite hydrogel. Meanwhile, this study also provides
a new and effective reference for the preparation of high-performance
green hydrogels.
An ultra-tough conductive composite
hydrogel with antibacterial
activity and UV-shielding performance was prepared via a simple soaking approach. The soaking agent TA@LS-Ag was synthesized via a simple microwave-assisted reduction method using the
green biomass tannic acid (TA) and sodium lignosulfonate (LS) as the
carrier for silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). The TA@LS-Ag/PVA composite
hydrogel was then prepared by soaking the pure poly(vinyl alcohol)
(PVA) hydrogel into the TA@LS-Ag suspension. The dense hydrogen bonding
interactions between the hydroxyl groups in the PVA chain and oxygen-containing
groups in TA@LS-Ag endowed the composite hydrogel with excellent mechanical
properties, including great tensile strength (5.43 MPa), high toughness
(30.51 MJ/m3), and outstanding crack resistance performance.
The composite hydrogel also exhibited good electrical performance
with high conductivity (4.1 S/m) and favorable sensitivity to stretch,
compression, bending, and handwriting. In addition, the composite
hydrogel exhibited excellent antibacterial activity and UV-blocking
property. This study provides a feasible approach for fabricating
multifunctional hydrogels, integrating the good mechanical performance
with high conductivity, electric sensing, and excellent antibacterial
activity for promising flexible electronic applications.
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