Polyaniline nanofiber-reinforced conducting hydrogel with unique pH-sensitivity

Abstract

A novel composite hydrogel embedded with polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers has been fabricated via rapid polymerization of aniline in a poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) hydrogel. The PAA/PANI nanofiber composite hydrogel displays a compress fracture stress as high as 1.7 MPa and a pH-responsive hysteresis due to the formation of polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers within the hydrogel. The PANI nanofiber content and the conductivity of the composite hydrogel can be facilely modulated by adjusting the concentration of the aniline monomers during the preparation. The as-prepared composite hydrogel would find many applications in various fields, and the present findings are also of crucial significance due to the combination of a common polymer hydrogel and a conductive polymer nanostructure with unique morphology.