Novel Nanocomposite Hydrogels Consisting of C-Dots with Excellent Mechanical Properties

Polyacrylamide (PAM)/carbon nanodot (C‐dot) nanocomposite (NC) hydrogels were successfully prepared by free radical polymerization using C‐dots as cross‐linkers. The storage modulus and the cross‐link density of NC hydrogels compared with the pure PAM hydrogel were greatly enhanced due to strong hydrogen bonding interactions between PAM and C‐dots. The swelling ratio of NC hydrogels increased with increasing the C‐dot contents. The fracture...