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Ultrahigh‐Water‐Content, Superelastic, and Shape‐Memory Nanofiber‐Assembled Hydrogels Exhibiting Pressure‐Responsive Conductivity
Author(s) -
Si Yang,
Wang Lihuan,
Wang Xueqin,
Tang Ning,
Yu Jianyong,
Ding Bin
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201700339
Subject(s) - materials science , self healing hydrogels , nanofiber , shape memory alloy , nanotechnology , conductivity , durability , fabrication , composite material , polymer chemistry , medicine , chemistry , alternative medicine , pathology
High‐water‐content hydrogels that are both mechanically robust and conductive could have wide applications in fields ranging from bioengineering and electronic devices to medicine; however, creating such materials has proven to be extremely challenging. This study presents a scalable methodology to prepare superelastic, cellular‐structured nanofibrous hydrogels (NFHs) by combining alginate and flexible SiO 2 nanofibers. This approach causes naturally abundant and sustainable alginate to assemble into 3D elastic bulk NFHs with tunable water content and desirable shapes on a large scale. The resultant NFHs exhibit the integrated properties of ultrahigh water content (99.8 wt%), complete recovery from 80% strain, zero Poisson's ratio, shape‐memory behavior, injectability, and elastic‐responsive conductivity, which can detect dynamic pressure in a wide range (>50 Pa) with robust sensitivity (0.24 kPa −1 ) and durability (100 cycles). The fabrication of such fascinating materials may provide new insights into the design and development of multifunctional hydrogels for various applications.