A Hybrid Supramolecular Polymeric Hydrogel with Rapid Self-Healing Property

A hybrid supramolecular polymeric hydrogel is conveniently constructed via host-guest interaction of a host cyclodextrin polymer (poly-CD) with a guest α-bromonaphthalene polymer (poly-BrNp) and mixing with 6-thio-β-cyclodextrin (β-SH-CD) modified gold nanoparticles (GPCDs) in aqueous solution. According to the dynamic oscillatory data, the hydrogel exhibits markedly enhanced stiffness compared with the GPCD-free one (both G' and G" values are almost twice as high as those of the original GPCD-free hydrogel) due to the introduction of the inorganic gold nanoparticles. This hybrid supramolecular polymeric hydrogel has a rapid and excellent self-healing property (only about 1 min, and the G' and G" of the self-healed hydrogel almost turned back to their original levels after 1 hour) in air (without adding any solvent or additive).