A dual-crosslinked self-healing and antibacterial nanocellulose hydrogel for monitoring of human motions
Luyu Zhang, Caichao Wan, Jiahui Su, Chonghao Zhang, Song Wei, Wenyan Tian, Xinyi Liu, Wenjie Cheng, Xingong Li, Xianjun Li, Xin Guo, Ken‐Tye Yong, Yiqiang Wu
Abstract
High stiffness of hydrogen-bond network generally endows cellulose hydrogels with weak mechanical flexibility and shape uncontrollability, imposing restrictions on their application scopes. Herein, a flexible polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) network is penetrated through the rigid network of bamboo cellulose, inducing the formation of a dual-crosslinked hydrogel with superior flexibility and shape controllability. Besides, the borax crosslinker offers the bamboo nanocellulose-borax-PVA hydrogel with remarkable self-healing ability and high ionic conductivity. The hydrogel achieves a minimum sensing weight of 5 g (gauge factor: 1.47) and has a stable sensing sensitivity in both hot and cold environments (i.e., 0 and 60 °C). When fixed to the wrist of human, the hydrogel can regularly sense the motion signals, verifying the potential of the hydrogel for the development of next-generation wearable products. More importantly, the hydrogel can serve as a green platform to integrate with amoxicillin to create an effective composite to inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus , which provides an effective route to develop eco-friendly and powerful functional composites. The drug-loaded hydrogel displays a negligible cytotoxicity and favorable biocompatibility towards human skin.