Synthesis of an un-modified gum arabic and acrylic acid based physically cross-linked hydrogels with high mechanical, self-sustainable and self-healable performance

A novel and simple strategy was designed for the synthesis of an unmodified gum arabic (GA) and acrylic acid (AA) based polymer hydrogels using Fe3+ as a physical cross-linking agent. The hydrogels showed a high mechanical strength, self-sustainability and self-healing ability, which depends on the content of GA and Fe3+ in the composition. The fracture stress increased from 0.23 to 0.841 MPa and a decrease in self-healing from 53 to 34% was...