Boron nitride-alginate coordination interactions enabling hydrogels with enhanced mechanical strength and heat resistance

Wenjing Geng; Yaohui Xu; Chan Guo; Yuchen Liu; Xinxin Ye; Qiuwen Liu; Hui Zhang; Chen Fu; Fengguang Liu; Weiwei Lei; Liang Yuan; Cheng Chen

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122015

Boron nitride-alginate coordination interactions enabling hydrogels with enhanced mechanical strength and heat resistance

Carbohydr Polym. 2024 Jun 15:334:122015. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122015. Epub 2024 Mar 3.

Authors

Wenjing Geng¹, Yaohui Xu¹, Chan Guo¹, Yuchen Liu², Xinxin Ye³, Qiuwen Liu⁴, Hui Zhang⁵, Chen Fu⁶, Fengguang Liu⁷, Weiwei Lei⁸, Liang Yuan⁹, Cheng Chen¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China.
² School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China; Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Locked Bag 2000, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia.
³ School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China. Electronic address: yersc@ahau.edu.cn.
⁴ Hunan Joint International Research Center for Carbon Dioxide Resource Utilization, School of Physics, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, Hunan P. R. China.
⁵ Anhui Provincial Engineering Center for High Performance Biobased Nylon, School of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, PR China.
⁶ Hefei Innovation Research Institute, Beihang University, Hefei, 230013, Anhui, China.
⁷ Hefei Innovation Research Institute, Beihang University, Hefei, 230013, Anhui, China. Electronic address: liufg@buaa.edu.cn.
⁸ Institute for Frontier Materials, Deakin University, Locked Bag 2000, Geelong, Victoria 3220, Australia.
⁹ Anhui Provincial Engineering Center for High Performance Biobased Nylon, School of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, PR China. Electronic address: yuanliang2020@ahau.edu.cn.
¹⁰ School of Resources and Environment, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, 230036, Anhui, China. Electronic address: chc@ahau.edu.cn.

PMID: 38553215
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122015

Abstract

Developing large-scale hydrogels with high tensile strength and robust mechanical properties is an intricate challenge of great industrial significance. In this study, we demonstrate an efficient method for producing nanocomposite hydrogels with extraordinary mechanical properties. Our approach involves a two-step process: an initial stage of pre-cross-linking boron nitride (BN)-enriched pre-gel sodium alginate, followed by cross-linking with metal ions. In stark contrast to conventional sodium alginate hydrogels (SA), our newly formulated 'BS hydrogel' exhibited an impressive tensile strength exceeding 41 MPa and improved thermal resistance. Moreover, the reconstituted BS hydrogel exhibited tensile strengths ranging from 47 to 96 MPa and elastic moduli ranging from 199 to 1184 MPa, depending on the cross-linking metal ions. These findings indicate the multifaceted potential of the BS hydrogel, which is poised to revolutionize many applications and represents a significant step forward in hydrogel technology for industrial applications.

Keywords: Alginate; Boron nitride nanosheet; Hydrogel; Mechanical strength; Scale manufacture.