A simple multifunctional PNIPAM-GO/PANI hydrogel preparation strategy and its application in dye adsorption and infrared switching

Abstract

Single-responsive hydrogels will be limited in application. Therefore, the development of hydrogels with multi-stimulus response characteristics will greatly broaden its application, such as smart appliances and dye adsorption aspects. In this study, we designed a simple two-step radical polymerization method to fabricate a Poly(N-isopropylacrylanide)(PNIPAM)- graphene oxide (GO)/Polyaniline (PANI) thermosensitive conductive composite hydrogel. The synthetic material was characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). The tensile/compression test and infrared light response analysis show that the material has good mechanical properties and good thermal response. The as-prepared hydrogels show good applications in infrared light switching and dye selective adsorption. It provides some reference for the following hydrogel materials in the application of infrared light control switch in farmland environment and the adsorption and separation of anionic dye in sewage.

Keywords:

• Hydrogels
• multi-stimulation response
• enhanced mechanical strength
• light control switch
• anionic dye removal

Additional information

Funding

Financial support from the State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-products (ZS20190101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41576098, 81773483), the Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province of China (2016C33176, LGF18B070002) and Natural Science Foundation of Ningbo (2017A610231) are gratefully acknowledged. This research was also sponsored by K.C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University.