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Tough and fluorescent hydrogels composed of poly(hydroxyurethane) and poly(stearyl acrylate‐ co ‐acrylic acid) with hydrophobic associations and hydrogen bonds as the physical crosslinks
Author(s) -
Tian Ye,
Du Cong,
Liu Bin,
Qiu Hao Nan,
Zhang XingHong,
Wu Zi Liang,
Zheng Qiang
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2642-4169
pISSN - 2642-4150
DOI - 10.1002/pol.20210070
Subject(s) - self healing hydrogels , acrylate , hydrogen bond , acrylic acid , toughness , materials science , chemical engineering , fluorescence , composite number , polymer chemistry , hydrophobic effect , polymer , composite material , swelling , chemistry , organic chemistry , molecule , copolymer , physics , quantum mechanics , engineering
Fluorescent hydrogels have promising applications in biomedical and engineering fields. However, they are usually mechanically weak. Here, we report a fluorescent composite hydrogel with high toughness, which is facilely prepared by solution casting ethanol solution of poly(hydroxyurethane) (PHU) and poly(stearyl acrylate‐ co ‐acrylic acid) (P[SA‐ co ‐AAc]) followed by swelling the casted film in water. The composite hydrogels with water content of 62–78 wt% possess remarkable mechanical performances, with tensile breaking stress of 0.3–1.1 MPa, breaking strain of 280%–400%, Young's modulus of 0.2–0.7 MPa, and tearing fracture energy of 1250–2630 J/m 2 . The high toughness is attributed to the effective energy dissipation of the network with hydrophobic association of SA units and hydrogen bonds between PHU and P(SA‐ co ‐AAc) as the physical crosslinks. The intense aggregation of carbamates and the formation of carbamate clusters through intra‐ and intermolecular hydrogen bonds endow the composite hydrogel with strong fluorescence. These hydrogels with high toughness and strong fluorescence should find applications in flexible electronics, information display, and biomedical devices.