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Effect of H2O and reduced graphene oxide on the structure and rheology of self-healing, stimuli responsive catecholic gels

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Abstract

A catechol-containing organogel based on random copolymers of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and dopamine methacrylate (NIDO5%) in dimethyl formamide (DMF) was supramolecularly crosslinked by NaBH4 in the presence of reduced graphene oxide (RGO). The focus of the investigations was on the influence of H2O and RGO in the system, which leads to a softening and stiffening, respectively. Whereas RGO tends to restack partially, this tendency was not found in the gels, suggesting a surface coverage of RGO with NIDO5% due to H-bonding and surface crosslinking attributed to the interactions of polar groups of polymer chains with carboxylic and carbonyl groups of RGO sheets proven by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction and spectroscopy (XRD). While RGO leads to the system becoming more brittle, its presence does not lead to an excessive loss of the self-healing characteristics, but it clearly stabilizes the gel when swollen with H2O, as can be seen from the significantly higher modulus and the retained self-healing behavior.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge financial aid from the National Research Foundation of Korea (110100713, 2015–020449), the National Science Foundation of China (21574086), Nanshan District Key Lab for Biopolymers and Safety Evaluation (No. KC2014ZDZJ0001A), and Shenzhen City High Level Talent Program and Shenzhen Sci & Tech research grant (ZDSYS201507141105130, JCYJ20140509172719311). The authors would also like to thank the staff of the CBNU central lab.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Polymer Science and Technology, Guangdong Research Center for Interfacial Engineering of Functional Materials, Nanshan District Key Lab for Biopolymers and Safety Evaluation, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, People’s Republic of China

    Amin GhavamiNejad & Florian J. Stadler

  2. School of Semiconductor and Chemical Engineering, Chonbuk National University, Baekjero 567, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, Jeonbuk, 561-756, Republic of Korea

    Amin GhavamiNejad, Saud Hashmi, Mohammad Vatankhah-Varnoosfaderani & Florian J. Stadler

  3. Department of Bionanosystem Engineering, Graduate School, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, 561-756, Republic of Korea

    Amin GhavamiNejad

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, University Road, Karachi, 75270, Pakistan

    Saud Hashmi

  5. Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3290, USA

    Mohammad Vatankhah-Varnoosfaderani

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  1. Amin GhavamiNejad
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Correspondence to Florian J. Stadler.

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Amin GhavamiNejad and Saud Hashmi contributed equally to this work.

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GhavamiNejad, A., Hashmi, S., Vatankhah-Varnoosfaderani, M. et al. Effect of H2O and reduced graphene oxide on the structure and rheology of self-healing, stimuli responsive catecholic gels. Rheol Acta 55, 163–176 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00397-015-0906-3

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