Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/Polydopamine/Clay Nanocomposite Hydrogels with Stretchability, Conductivity, and Light/Thermo Dual Responsive Bending and Adhesive Properties

Publication date: Available online 29 January 2019Source: Colloids and Surfaces B: BiointerfacesAuthor(s): Xiang Di, Yanke Kang, Feifan Li, Rui Yao, Qin Chen, Chen Hang, Yue Xu, Yanming Wang, Pingchuan Sun, Guolin WuAbstractConducting hydrogels have attracted attention as a special functional class of smart soft materials and have found applications in various advanced fields. However, acquiring all the characteristics such as conductivity, adequate adhesiveness, self-healing ability, stretchability, biocompatibility, and stimulating deformation responsiveness still remains a challenge. Inspired by the mechanism of bioadhesion in marine mussels, a multifunctional nanocomposite hydrogel with excellent adhesiveness to a broad range of substrates including human skin was developed with the help of synergistic multiple coordination bonds between clay, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), and polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA-NPs). The prepared hydrogel showed controllable near-infrared (NIR) responsive deformation after incorporation of PDA-NPs as highly effective photothermal agents in the thermo-sensitive PNIPAM network. Meanwhile, the fabricated nanocomposite hydrogels showed excellent stretchability and conductivity, which make them attractive material candidates for application in various fields, such as electronic skin, wearable devices, and so on.Graphical abstract
Source: Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research