Water-dispersible and stable polydopamine coated cellulose nanocrystal-MXene composites for high transparent, adhesive and conductive hydrogels

Bolin Wan; Nana Liu; Zhen Zhang; Xiong Fang; Yugao Ding; Haosheng Xiang; Yunqing He; Mingxian Liu; Xiaoming Lin; Juntao Tang; Yingzhan Li; Biao Tang; Guofu Zhou

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120929

Water-dispersible and stable polydopamine coated cellulose nanocrystal-MXene composites for high transparent, adhesive and conductive hydrogels

Carbohydr Polym. 2023 Aug 15:314:120929. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120929. Epub 2023 Apr 24.

Authors

Bolin Wan¹, Nana Liu¹, Zhen Zhang², Xiong Fang¹, Yugao Ding¹, Haosheng Xiang¹, Yunqing He³, Mingxian Liu⁴, Xiaoming Lin¹, Juntao Tang⁵, Yingzhan Li⁶, Biao Tang⁷, Guofu Zhou¹

Affiliations

¹ SCNU-TUE Joint Lab of Device Integrated Responsive Materials (DIRM), National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
² SCNU-TUE Joint Lab of Device Integrated Responsive Materials (DIRM), National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: zhangzhen@m.scnu.edu.cn.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China.
⁴ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Jinan University, Guangzhou 511443, China. Electronic address: liumx@jnu.edu.cn.
⁵ Hunan Key Laboratory of Micro & Nano Materials Interface Science, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
⁶ The Key Laboratory of Advanced Textile Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
⁷ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology & Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China. Electronic address: b.tang@m.scnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 37173010
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2023.120929

Abstract

High conductive and transparent hydrogels with adhesion function are ideal candidates for soft electronic devices. However, it remains a challenge to design appropriate conductive nanofillers to endow hydrogels with all these characteristics. The 2D MXene sheets are promising conductive nanofillers for hydrogels due to excellent electricity and water-dispersibility. However, MXene is quite susceptible to oxidation. In this study, polydopamine (PDA) was employed to protect the MXene from oxidation and meanwhile endow hydrogels with adhesion. However, PDA coated MXene (PDA@MXene) were easily flocculated from dispersion. 1D cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were employed as steric stabilizers to prevent the agglomeration of MXene during the self-polymerization of dopamine. The obtained PDA coated CNC-MXene (PCM) sheets display outstanding water-dispersible and anti-oxidation stability and are promising conductive nanofillers for hydrogels. During the fabrication of polyacrylamide hydrogels, the PCM sheets were partially degraded into PCM nanoflakes with smaller size, leading to transparent PCM-PAM hydrogels. The PCM-PAM hydrogels can self-adhere to skin, and possess high transmittance of 75 % at 660 nm, superior electric conductivity of 4.7 S/m with MXene content as low as 0.1 % and excellent sensitivity. This study will facilitate the development of MXene based stable, water-dispersible conductive nanofillers and multi-functional hydrogels.

Keywords: Adhesion; Cellulose nanocrystals; MXene; Polydopamine; Transparent conductive hydrogel.