Functional hydrogels for energy and (bio)engineering applications

Multifunctional biomaterials as energy storage devices, biosensors as well as scaffolds are of great interest due to their tunable properties. In this project, an ionically crosslinked conductive hydrogel is prepared of PEDOT:PSS and alginate to form an interpenetrating network (IPN). A ratio of 1:3 of PEDOT:PSS and alginate is used for better mechanical stability. Additionally, different types of nanomaterials (magnetic nanoparticles and carbon-based nanomaterials) are incorporated during the hydrogel synthesis to fabricate multifunctional hydrogel nanocomposites. First, the functionalized hydrogels containing magnetite exhibit low specific capacitance (Cs) (0,274 mF/g). However, a combination of an electrodeposition with Ni-Fe and an incorporation of a mixture of carbon nanotubes (CNT) and graphene into the hydrogel show both an enhancement of the Cs as well as the increase of the charging and discharging time while behaving as a pseudocapacitor. Secondly, PEDOT/Alg/magnetite hydrogel composites exhibit a high temperature sensitivity which make them good candidates as temperature sensors. Lastly, magnetite embedded hydrogel scaffolds present magnetic responsiveness when exposed to an external magnetic field, which could potentially be used to trigger cell growth and differentiation for tissue engineering applications