Luminescent hydrogels have shown great potential in many fields, such as lighting, display, imaging, and sensing, because of their unique optical properties, biocompatibility, and easy processing. Organic-inorganic hybrid self-assembly can not only enhance the hydrogels' mechanical strength, but also retain their self-healing ability. Herein, a luminescent supramolecular hydrogel is reported, which is formed via self-assembly of the negatively charged Laponite nanosheets and cationic lanthanide coordination polymer. The corresponding results reveal that the multiple binding interaction between Laponite and the polymeric binder is vital for improving the mechanical performance of the obtained luminescent supramolecular hydrogel.
Herein, we report the construction of hybrid hydrogels possessing mechanical anisotropy as well as luminescent anisotropy via the copolymerization of superparamagnetic nanoparticle-coated halloysite nanotubes (Fe/HNTs), a lanthanide complex, and acrylamide in a directed magnetic field. The aligned one-dimensional (1D) Fe/HNTs reinforce the polymer network in an anisotropic manner, thus leading to mechanical anisotropy. Meanwhile, the orientation-dependent shading effect of the aligned Fe/HNTs on the lanthanide emitting centers endows the hydrogels luminescent anisotropy. Notably, both the mechanical anisotropic parameter and luminescent anisotropic parameter (tensile, compressional, rheological, and emission anisotropic parameters are 4.8, 5.3, 4.9, and 5.5, respectively) of the hybrid hydrogels are significantly higher than those prepared using ferromagnetic 2D nanofillers. This work proposes a promising strategy to design mechanical/luminescent dual anisotropic soft materials with a high anisotropic parameter.
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