Ligament-like tough double-network hydrogel based on bacterial cellulose

Using the double-network (DN) method, bacterial cellulose/polyacrylamide (BC/PAAm) DN gels able to sustain not only high elongation but also high compression have been synthesized by combining BC gel as the first network with PAAm as the second network in the presence of N,N'-methylene bisacrylamide (MBAA) as a cross-linker. This DN gel was obtained by modifying the monomer concentration of the second network, acrylamide monomer (AAm) and MBAA, and by controlling the water content of the first network, BC gel. The mechanical properties are discussed in term of the swelling degree (q), which is independent of the concentration of AAm and MBAA. It was found that, for BC/PAAm DN gels with the first network formed from BC gel with high q (BCq=120), the tensile and compressive modulus (E) scales with q as E proportional to q(-2). The tensile fracture stress, sigma(F), of this DN gel was almost independent of q, that is sigma(F) proportional to q(0); but the compressive fracture stress, sigma(F), scaled with q as E proportional to q(-2). Meanwhile, the tensile and compressive fracture strain (epsilon(F)) of the gel is almost independent of q, which is caused by AAm concentration change, but linearly increased with q, which is caused by MBAA concentration change. Furthermore, by decreasing the water content of the BC gel prior to polymerization of the second (PAAm) network, a ligament-like tough BC/PAAm DN gel could be obtained with tensile strength of 40 MPa.