Synergistic construction of κ-carrageenan-based nanocomposite hydrogels by multiple noncovalent interactions and their properties
In order to improve the properties of κ-carrageenan-based hydrogel,a method of constructing κ-carrageenan-based nanocomposite hydrogel with multiple non-covalent interactions was proposed.κ-carrageenan/poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid)-Al3+/graphene oxide(CA/PAMAA-Al3+/GO)nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared by copolymerization between acrylamide and acrylic acid,and immersion in KCl solution in the presence of κ-carrageenan,aluminum ion and graphene oxide.The chemical struc-ture of the prepared CA/PAMAA-Al3+/GO nanocomposite hydrogel was analyzed,and its swelling,mechanical,rheological and self-healing properties were evaluated.The results show that the formation of hydrogels is mainly dependent on non-covalent bonds,such as hydrogen bonds between polymer chains and graphene oxide,metal coordination between carboxyl anions and Al3+,and KCl-induced entanglement of polymer chains.The composition of the hydrogel,such as graphene oxide content,Al3+content and AM/AA ratio,affects its swelling properties,surface morphology and mechanical properties.The tensile strength and elongation at break of CA/PAMAA5/5-Al3+-0.20/GO-4%hydrogel can reach 348.7 kPa and 1 423%,respectively.Compared with the neat hydrogel,the introduction of graphene oxide significantly improve the toughness and self-recovery ability of hydrogels.In addition,CA/PAMAA/GO hydrogels also have certain self-healing ability.Therefore,this study provides a new strategy for the preparation of κ-carrageenan-based hydrogels with excellent properties.