Self-healing hydrogels

Nanotechnology

Polymer chemistry

Biology

Nanocomposite

Ultimate tensile strength

Nuclear chemistry

Engineering

Environmentally friendly

Nanoparticle

Composite material

Carboxymethyl cellulose

Chemistry

Ecology

Metallurgy

Materials science

Chitosan

Polyvinyl alcohol

Silver nitrate

Sodium

Silver nanoparticle

Chemical engineering

Cellulose

Eco-friendly smart nanocomposite hydrogels were developed in this study. Green synthesized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using extracted sugarcane leaves were incorporated into hydrogel-based polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethyl cellulose, glycerol, and borax. Different concentrations of silver nitrate at 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 mM were used to obtain AgNPs (AgNPs-5, AgNPs-10, AgNPs-20, AgNPs-30, and AgNPs-50, respectively). The presence of glycerol and AgNPs in hydrogel improved the long-term stability of hydrogel. Uniform dispersion of AgNPs-30 in the hydrogel provided the highest tensile strength and strain. After the self-healing test, the hydrogel containing AgNPs were found to have tensile properties comparable to those of conductive hydrogels in previous reports. The conductivity values ranged from 0.14 mS/m to 0.22 S/m. The hydrogel containing AgNPs-30 showed the highest gauge factor (GF) of 5.76 at a stretchability of 265%. The hydrogel containing AgNPs with a low-cost and environment-friendly fabrication process could be applied as a strain sensor.

Smart conductive nanocomposite hydrogel containing green synthesized nanosilver for use in an eco-friendly strain sensor