Biomimetic Nanowire Structured Hydrogels as Highly Active and Recyclable Catalyst Carriers

Nanowire hydrogels with high specific surface areas have great promise in many practical applications. However, the preparation of nanowire hydrogels using common materials and inexpensive means remains an outstanding challenge. This paper reports a novel method for creating aligned nanowire structured hydrogels by directional freezing and γ-radiation initiated polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) using t-butyl alcohol (TBA) as the solvent. The hydrogels prepared at a monomer concentration lower than 2.0 mol L–1 and a freezing rate higher than 10 mm min–1 are structured of nanowires, mimicking the microstructure of jellyfish mesogloea. Silver (Ag) nanoparticles (NPs) are introduced into the hydrogels with a chemical reduction method, and the Ag NPs are formed and deposited on the nanowires. Both size and content of Ag NPs in the hydrogels increase with increasing AgNO3 concentration. The PHEMA and PHEMA/Ag nanocomposite hydrogels all possess very good compressive properties, and the compos...