A novel transparent luminous hydrogel with self-healing property

Abstract

Intelligent hydrogels have promising applications in a wide variety of fields. Herein, a transparent luminous hydrogel with self-healing properties was prepared from a novel Eu-containing PVA that was designed and synthesized via free radical copolymerization and ester hydrolysis. Fluorescence behavior of the Eu-PVA hydrogel depended on the Eu organic complex in Eu-PVA. The water content of the hydrogel depended on the concentration of the PVA water solution. The strength of the Eu-PVA hydrogel was affected by the concentration of the cross-linking agent (boric acid) and the content of Eu-PVA. Eu-containing organic complex, which had good UV photoluminescence, was stabilized in hydrogels without diffusion. The spectroscopic properties of the Eu-containing polymers were investigated in detail. Moreover, the Eu-PVA hydrogel exhibited strong visible fluorescence and excellent self-healing properties. Furthermore, the Eu-PVA hydrogel had excellent biocompatibility since mouse osteoblasts could grow well on its surface. The approach in this study provided new insights into the design and fabrication of multifunctional intelligent soft materials for biomedical applications.