Peripherally Modified Poly(amido amine) Nanocomposite Hydrogel with Stimuli‐Responsive Self‐Healing, High Tensile Strength, and Selective Superadsorption Poperties

Abstract

AbstractSmart materials with dual functionalities demonstrate considerable potential in various applications. Designing and synthesizing hydrogels with excellent stimuli‐responsive self‐healing and high mechanical strength is extremely challenging. The present study initiates the development of a new generation of smart materials with selective superadsorption capacity. Here, we introduce a novel anthracene‐modified poly (amido amine) (PAMAM)‐N‐isopropyl acrylamide hydrogel (PAMNG). The hydrogel becomes hybrid as we incorporate the silica nanoparticle. PAMAM dendrimer‐based organic/inorganic hybrid silica nanoparticles (PAMAGN) have been characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electrone microscopy (TEM) and rheology. The developed hybrid gel exhibited excellent near‐infrared (IR) responsive self‐healing character. The hybrid gel had excellent mechanical strength, which was as high as 106 Pa. Further, the gel was used for superadsorption studies and showed selective adsorption of methyl orange from water. The adsorption was 96 %, which is remarkable. The results taken together suggest that the PMNG gel can be a promising candidate for developing multifunctional smart materials. In the future, we aim to explore how this self‐healing mechanism applies to biological applications.