Radiation preparation and mechanical properties of a high-strength graphene oxide/ highly substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol composite hydrogel

Abstract

Using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), highly substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose (HHPC), and graphene oxide (GO) as raw materials, a high-strength GO composite hydrogel was synthesized. The effects of the absorbed dose and GO doping on the mechanical properties of the composite hydrogels were investigated via freeze-thawing and irradiation crosslinking. The effects of GO doping on the microstructure and composition of the HHPC/PVA hydrogel were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, a material testing machine, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetry, and other characterization methods. For an absorbed dose of 60 kGy and GO filling amount of 0.36 mg/g, the GO/HHPC/PVA composite hydrogel exhibited the highest mechanical strength (up to 3.5 MPa), excellent swelling degree (5.3%), and high gel fraction (81.65%). Therefore, the hydrogel is expected to have applications in fields such as tissue engineering and biomedicine.

Keywords

• high strength (3.5 mpa)
• hydrogel
• graphene oxide
• freezing-thawing
• radiation crosslinking