Assembly of polypyrrole-graphene oxide hydrogel nanocomposites and their swelling properties

An effective one-step strategy for the static assembly of hydrogels from polypyrrole (PPy) and graphene oxide (GO) is demonstrated. The static polymerization of pyrrole monomer was carried out in the presence of GO nanosheets, leading to the formation of PPy-GO hydrogels. During the static polymerization process, gelation takes place simultaneously by supramolecular interactions. The well-dispersed GO nanosheets in the polymer networks resulted in a significant improvement in water absorbencies. With only a very low loading of GO in the PPy-GO hydrogels, they exhibited significantly larger water uptake compared to a PPy hydrogel. Even in saline solutions, PPy-GO hydrogels also showed obvious water absorbency. Moreover, the PPy-GO hydrogels exhibited a better water retention ability compared with the control under the same conditions. This method is believed to provide possibilities to combine the extraordinary performances of GO with the multifunctional properties of conducting polymers, thus holding great potential for technical applications in the future.