Fabrication of antiseptic, conductive and robust polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan composite hydrogels
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Fabrication of antiseptic, conductive and robust polyvinyl alcohol/chitosan composite hydrogels ChunHui Luo 1,2
&
Yufei Zhao 1,2 & Xinxin Sun 1,2 & FaLiang Luo 3
Received: 3 November 2019 / Accepted: 10 August 2020 # The Polymer Society, Taipei 2020
Abstract Fabricating robust and multi-functional hydrogels is of great importance and challenge. In this work, chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) were used to design antiseptic, conductive and robust hydrogels by a two-step method. Chemical structures of gels, the degree of crystallinity, the state of water in hydrogels, as well as their microstructures were characterized via a combination of FT-IR, XRD, DSC and SEM. Segment lengths of cross-linking points were calculated from elastic rubber theory. Their mechanical properties were evaluated on the electronic testing machine. It was shown that the tensile strength and elongation at break of single PVA hydrogel were only 200 kPa and 135%, respectively, due to the heterogenous structure with pore sizes between 1.5 ~ 8.2 μm. By introducing CS into PVA matrix followed with soaking in a saturated NaCl solution, the network became homogeneous with a pore size of 0.5 ~ 1.1 μm. Moreover, free water changed to bond water, and frictions between polymer chains increased because of hydrophobic associations and entanglements of CS segments. As a result, the tensile stress and strain increased to 3800 kPa and 270%, respectively. The gel also exhibited antiseptic property, electrical conductivity and swelling-resistant properties. The strength after reaching swell equilibrium was 3400 kPa, much higher than most gels at swollen states. This gel might find applications in bionic cartilage, sensors, food preservation and wearable devices. Keywords PVA . Chitosan . Robust . Antiseptic . Conductive
Introduction As three-dimensional networks of polymer chains swelling in water, hydrogels were considered as one of the best candidates in drug delivery, tissue engineering, soft electronics and wound dressings, because of their structural similarities to Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-020-02247-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * ChunHui Luo [email protected] * FaLiang Luo [email protected] 1
College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, North Minzu University, Yinchuan 750021, Ningxia, China
2
Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering and Technology, State Ethnic Affairs Commission, North Minzu University, Yinchuan 750021, Ningxia, China
3
State Key Laboratory of High-efficiency Utilization of Coal and Green Chemical Engineering, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China
human tissues and organs [1–4]. Conventional polyacrylamide(PAM) gels are usually fragile arose from the heterogeneity cross-linking network and low density of polymer chains [5]. Therefore, developing tough and functional gels is urgently necessary while difficult. To date, dual-network, nano composited, topological cross-linkin
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