Conducting hydrogels originating from high-pressure induced gelation of poly(vinyl alcohol) and in-situ polymerization of aniline

- Conducting polyaniline/poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels.
- High-pressure induced gelation of PVA solutions and in-situ polymerization of aniline.
- One-pot to fabricate conducting PVA hydrogels.
- Excellent electrochemical response.

Conducting hydrogels were obtained through high-pressure induced gelation of poly(vinyl alcohol) aqueous solutions and subsequent in-situ polymerization of aniline (polyaniline). A study of scanning electron microscopy showed that polyaniline was homogeneously dispersed within the 3D nano-network matrix of the poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels. The UV-vis spectra and cyclic voltammetry of the hydrogels demonstrated that the high-pressure treatment had no influence on the in-situ polymerization and electrochemical feature of polyaniline. A study of electrochemical impedance indicated that the conducting hydrogels possessed electrical conductivity and potential application in the field of biomaterials and electrode materials of supercapacitors.

Aniline and APS were dissolved in the acidic aqueous solution of PVA. The solution mixture was directly transformed into the hydrogels under high pressure. The pressure induced self-assembly of PVA chains acted as physically crosslinking junctions. After subsequent in-situ polymerization of aniline, the conducting PANI/PVA hydrogels with black color were obtained.223