Self-healable, tough and highly stretchable hydrophobic association/ionic dual physically cross-linked hydrogels

Abstract

Hydrophobic association (HA) hydrogels have recently attracted much attention since they exhibit high self-healing ability, remolding capability and shape-memory behavior simultaneously, but their low mechanical strength prevents them from use in many stress-bearing applications. In this work, we describe a novel method for the production of tough and highly stretchable hydrogels with self-healing behavior, tensile strength of 150–300 kPa and stretch at break of 2400–2800%. Dual physical cross-linking (DPHF) hydrogels were prepared via micellar copolymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and stearyl methacrylate (C18) in an aqueous ferric chloride solution with two different types of surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS). The mechanical, rheological, self-healing and swelling properties of the DPHF hydrogels were investigated and also evaluated as a function of the type of surfactant and the content of ferric ions. The introduction of a moderate content of ferric chloride endowed the hydrogels with excellent strength and self-healing properties simultaneously. Moreover, the structure of the DPHF hydrogels was investigated by IR and SEM analysis. The results were consistent with the results of the mechanical, self-healing and swelling properties tests.