Freeze-gelated sodium alginate incorporated GO hydrogel membrane fabrication, thermal and mechanical studies

Abstract

In this study, sodium alginate-graphene oxide (SA-GO) hydrogel membrane was prepared by freeze-gelation method and externally crosslinked with CaCl2. The prepared SA, SA-0.5% GO and SA-1% GO were characterized by FTIR analysis for the bonding interaction of sodium alginate and porosity of SA-GO hydrogels was confirmed by analyzing surface morphology through SEM. A further enhancement in porosity was confirmed by swelling studies due to water absorption. Also, GO incorporated hydrogel membranes showed controlled degradation at pH 7.4 in-vitro. Moreover, TGA analysis showed improved thermal stability of SA hydrogel with increasing concentration of GO. The mechanical studies revealed that SA-1% GO hydrogel membrane exhibit a fracture stress and young modulus of 0.30 MPa and 0.016 MPa respectively.