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Quickly self‐healing hydrogel at room temperature with high conductivity synthesized through simple free radical polymerization
Author(s) -
Yue Lipei,
Zhang Xiaoyong,
Li Weidong,
Tang Ying,
Bai Yongping
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.47379
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , materials science , self healing , conductivity , polymerization , nanotechnology , radical polymerization , electronics , conductive polymer , acrylate , flexible electronics , polymer , monomer , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , composite material , chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
ABSTRACT The use of conductive self‐healing hydrogels in electronic devices not only reduces replacement and maintenance costs but also prolongs their lifetime. Therefore, developing hydrogels with autonomous self‐healing properties and electronic conductivity is vital for the advancement of emerging fields, such as conductors, semiconductors, sensors, artificial skin, and electrodes and solar cells. However, it remains a challenge to fabricate a hydrogel with high conductivity that can be healed quickly at room temperature without any external stimulus. In this work, we report an effective and simple free radical polymerization approach to synthesizing a hydrogel using modified rGO and acrylate monomers containing abundant ion groups. The hydrogel exhibits excellent electronic conductivity, extremely fast electronic self‐healing ability, and excellent repeatable restoration performance at 25 °C. The conductivity of the hydrogel reaches 27.2 S/m, the hydrogel recovers its original shape, and scoring scratched on the surface totally disappears after holding at 25 °C for 40 s. This conductive, room‐temperature self‐healing hydrogel takes unique advantage of supramolecular chemistry and polymer nanoscience and has potential applications in various fields such as self‐healing electronics, artificial skin, soft robotics, biomimetic prostheses, and energy storage. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136 , 47379.