Design of a highly flexible, self-healing, conductive and antimicrobial hydrogel with organic-inorganic network structure

Abstract

A simple strategy to develop a conductive and antimicrobial self-healing hydrogel with organic-inorganic network was more conducive to actual production and application. Herein, we report a simple strategy (one-pot radical polymerization) to prepare self-healing conductive hydrogels based on alkaline calcium bentonite (ACBt)/poly (acrylic acid) (PAA). The ACBt participated in the construction of organic-inorganic crosslinking networks of hydrogels through acid-base neutralization reactions between its active -Ca-OH group and acrylic acid. Additionally, ACBt, as an inorganic crosslinker, endows hydrogels with extraordinary sensing ability, and it does not require tedious organic modification. Thus, satisfactory mechanical properties were achieved, including excellent tensile strength of 0.74 MPa, high tensile strain of 3880%, and extraordinary toughness of 3.596 MJ/m3. Moreover, the abundant –COOH groups on the PAA chain could promote the strong hydrogen bond interaction between the organic-inorganic network structure, thus endowing the hydrogel with excellent self-healing ability. More importantly, the ACBt/PAA conductive hydrogels exhibit excellent antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli (Gram-negative bacteria) and Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive bacteria), which have potential applications as flexible antibacterial materials to monitor movements of the human body in real time.