A transparent, tough self-healing hydrogel based on a dual physically and chemically triple crosslinked network

Abstract

Self-healing hydrogels are a new type of functional material that have been widely used in many fields. Although various self-healing hydrogels have been reported, the simultaneous achievement of transparency, toughness, good recovery, and superior self-healing properties is still challenging. Here, we designed a new hydrogel with a dual physical and chemical triple crosslinked network. The triple crosslinked network hydrogel after freeze–thaw cycling exhibited higher stability, toughness and better tensile properties than those provided by the dual crosslinked network in the as-prepared hydrogel. In addition, the triple crosslinked network structure provided reliable recovery performance and superior self-healing ability without requiring external stimuli. With the combination of high transparency, toughness, good recovery, and self-healing properties, we demonstrated the applicability of the hydrogel in resistance and capacitance sensors, which can be applied to a wide range of human motion monitoring and intelligent wearable devices.