Ultrastretchable Luminescent Nanocomposite Hydrogel with Self-Healing Behavior

Lanthanide luminescent hydrogels have attracted much attention due to their great potential application in a variety of fields. The introduction of lanthanide complexes into the polymer network provides the hydrogel with unique optical properties. However, the direct incorporation of the lanthanide complexes into the hydrogel suffers from some problems, such as poor mechanical strength and lack of self-healing ability. This study reports a simple and viable strategy to fabricate luminescence nanocomposite hydrogel by in situ copolymerization of acrylamide, lanthanide coordination complex, and aminoclay. Owing to the excellent dispersibility of the aminoclay and its hydrogen bond interaction with polymer chain, the mechanical strength of the hydrogel is improved. Moreover, the lanthanide complexes were embedded into the aminoclay layers, improving their luminescence performance. Thanks to the flexible and adjustable ratio of lanthanide ions, multicolor luminescent nanocomposite hydrogels can be prepared. More importantly, the dynamic reversible lanthanide metal-coordination and hydrogen bond impart the hydrogel ultrastretchability and outstanding room-temperature self-healing ability. This work presents a strategy to prepare luminescent soft materials with good mechanical strength and self-healing ability.