Exploiting CMC@Fe3O4 nanoparticles as a multi-functional component for hydrogel fabrication

Abstract

Hydrogels have been widely applied in the fields of biology, medicine, soft materials and flexible/wearable devices owing to their superior biocompatibility and their versatile physicochemical properties. Although multiple chemical and physical methods have been proposed to functionalize hydrogels, endowing hydrogels with multi-properties/functionalities utilizing few components is still a challenge. This paper describes a simple and effective method to functionalize polymeric hydrogels with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles (CMC@Fe3O4 NPs). The as-prepared metallogels exhibit good self-healing ability, ionic conductivity, photo-thermal transformability and magnetic field responsiveness. A triple functional sensor was built up to prove the universal viability of this metallogel toward functional devices.