Polymer Synthesis and Mechanic Tests | Making polyacrylamide/ Alginate hydrogel Composite

hydrogel synthesis methods, hydrogel synthesis, crosslinker, polyacrylamide hydrogel synthesis, alginate hydrogel synthesis. Alginate/polyacrylamide hybrid hydrogel has attracted intense interests in different fields, but the low tensile strength and stiffness limit its comprehensive application. In this hydrogel system, the alginate–cation network plays an important role. Thus, based on the unique structure of alginate and its special interaction with different metal cations, we designed a new method of introducing Calcium (Ca) ions to crosslink the alginate sufficiently, creating a stronger alginate network. As a result, the prepared hybrid hydrogel exhibits enhanced strength and stiffness, which may serve as a new way to develop stronger hydrogel. All these results showed that the resultant dual-cation (Ca+2) crosslinked hydrogel exhibits superior mechanical strength than that of single-cation (Na+) crosslinked hydrogel. This research may expand the scope of practical applications of this strong hybrid hydrogel in the load-bearing field.