Hydroxyethyl cellulose-based self-healing hydrogels with enhanced mechanical properties via metal-ligand bond interactions

Self-healing hydrogels with robust mechanical properties is the primary objective of hydrogel materials. In this work, we report the synthesis of iron (III) containing hydroxyethyl cellulose based hydrogel (HEC/PAA-Fe3+) through dynamic metal-ligand (M-L) interactions with enhanced self-healing and mechanical properties. The decoration of ferric ions (Fe3+) in a physically cross-linked polymer network (HEC/PAA) introduces dynamic energy...