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 -