Cellulose-Based Hydrogels with Controllable Electrical and Mechanical Properties

Electrically conductive cellulose-based hydrogels are prepared by a facile and environmentally friendly method, of which the electrical and mechanical properties can be easily controlled by varying the graphene loading. With an ultralow initial addition of graphene oxide (GO, 0.2 wt% versus the mass of cellulose), the resulting cellulose/reduced graphene oxide (CG(0.2)) hydrogel shows a significantly enhanced compressive modulus of 332.01 kPa, 54.8% higher than that of pure cellulose hydrogel. Further increasing the addition of GO to 2 wt% (versus the mass of cellulose), the electrical conductivity of the resultant CG(2.0) hydrogel is as high as 7.3 x 10(-3) S/m, 10,000-fold higher than that of pure cellulose hydrogel, and of which the mechanical properties are also enhanced. These cellulose-based hydrogels with controllable electrical and mechanical properties have a great potential for application in drug delivery and artificial muscle.