Carbon fiber-enabled superelastic hydrogel composites: Integrating high strength, efficient microwave healing and visual monitoring

TY - JOUR

T1 - Carbon fiber-enabled superelastic hydrogel composites

T2 - Integrating high strength, efficient microwave healing and visual monitoring

AU - Liu, Song

AU - Liu, Shanshan

AU - Song, Weidong

AU - Xiao, Lijun

AU - Meng, Yuquan

AU - Li, Yongcun

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2026 Elsevier B.V.

PY - 2026/4/1

Y1 - 2026/4/1

N2 - Hydrogels are pivotal materials for flexible electronics, soft robotics, and biomedical engineering. However, their application under complex service conditions is severely hampered by intrinsically low strength and toughness, as well as limited durability. Carbon fibers (CFs) are considered ideal reinforcements for achieving synergistic multidimensional performance enhancement. However, achieving uniform dispersion and multifunctional synergy under high fiber loading remains challenging. This study presents a two-step “aqueous dispersion - gel composite” strategy to uniformly incorporate high-content short carbon fibers (SCFs) into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel network. The superelastic matrix enables a novel fiber dynamic adaptive reorientation mechanism, leading to remarkable mechanical enhancements: approximately 300% and 500% improvements in tensile strength and toughness, respectively, along with a 45% increase in impact force absorption, while maintaining excellent structural recoverability after large deformations. To address the functional bottleneck where high-strength gels are difficult to heal due to their stable structure, this study leverages the polarization coupling effect between SCFs and microwaves to achieve non-contact, intelligent, targeted, and rapid healing of damaged regions. The healing efficiency remains near 100% even after multiple “damage-healing” cycles, effectively extending the material's service life. Furthermore, a spark discharge triggered by a localized supercritical electric field upon at the completion of crack healing serves as an in-situ optical indicator, enabling precise termination of the healing process and preventing over-healing. This work demonstrates the multifunctional role of CFs as mechanical enhancers, microwave-responsive units, and healing indicators in superelastic hydrogel composites, opening new avenues for designing intelligent materials for next-generation flexible electronics and soft robotics.

AB - Hydrogels are pivotal materials for flexible electronics, soft robotics, and biomedical engineering. However, their application under complex service conditions is severely hampered by intrinsically low strength and toughness, as well as limited durability. Carbon fibers (CFs) are considered ideal reinforcements for achieving synergistic multidimensional performance enhancement. However, achieving uniform dispersion and multifunctional synergy under high fiber loading remains challenging. This study presents a two-step “aqueous dispersion - gel composite” strategy to uniformly incorporate high-content short carbon fibers (SCFs) into a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel network. The superelastic matrix enables a novel fiber dynamic adaptive reorientation mechanism, leading to remarkable mechanical enhancements: approximately 300% and 500% improvements in tensile strength and toughness, respectively, along with a 45% increase in impact force absorption, while maintaining excellent structural recoverability after large deformations. To address the functional bottleneck where high-strength gels are difficult to heal due to their stable structure, this study leverages the polarization coupling effect between SCFs and microwaves to achieve non-contact, intelligent, targeted, and rapid healing of damaged regions. The healing efficiency remains near 100% even after multiple “damage-healing” cycles, effectively extending the material's service life. Furthermore, a spark discharge triggered by a localized supercritical electric field upon at the completion of crack healing serves as an in-situ optical indicator, enabling precise termination of the healing process and preventing over-healing. This work demonstrates the multifunctional role of CFs as mechanical enhancers, microwave-responsive units, and healing indicators in superelastic hydrogel composites, opening new avenues for designing intelligent materials for next-generation flexible electronics and soft robotics.

KW - Healing monitoring

KW - High-strength

KW - Microwave radiation

KW - Self-healing

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105031617131

U2 - 10.1016/j.cej.2026.174697

DO - 10.1016/j.cej.2026.174697

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105031617131

SN - 1385-8947

VL - 533

JO - Chemical Engineering Journal

JF - Chemical Engineering Journal

M1 - 174697

ER -