On the design and development of foamed GO-hydrogel nanocomposite surfaces by ultra-short laser processing

Graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide have outstanding qualities that could be exploited as reinforcement and antibacterial agents in a plethora of biomedical applications. In this contribution, it is reported the deployment of a polyacrylamide GO-hydrogel composite (GO@pAAm) which was photo-converted and structured by ultra-short laser irradiation using a direct laser writing (DLW) approach. The materials were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. The laser structure generates a multi-photo-induced effect: surface foaming and patterning, microdomains with enhanced selective water-swelling and effective GO photo-reduction. A first laser scan seems likely to induce the photo-reduction of GO and subsequent laser pulses trigger the structure/foaming. The photo-reduction of GO is evidenced by Raman spectroscopy by the relatively changing intensities of the D to G signals. Macroscopically by an increase in conductivity (decrease in sheet resistance from R S-GO@pAAm = 304 ± 20 kΩ sq−1 to R S-rGO@pAAm-DLW = 27 ± 8 kΩ sq−1) suggesting a reduction of the material measured by 4-Point-Probe.

[1]  R. Baumann,et al.  High throughput laser surface micro-structuring of polystyrene by combining direct laser interference patterning with polygon scanner technology , 2022, Materials Letters: X.

[2]  P. Zetterlund,et al.  Strategies for reduction of graphene oxide – A comprehensive review , 2021 .

[3]  H. Ramon,et al.  The Influence of Swelling on Elastic Properties of Polyacrylamide Hydrogels , 2020, Frontiers in Materials.

[4]  C. Barbero,et al.  Remote radiofrequency triggering of topography changes in a surface micropatterned PANI@PNIPAM nanocomposite , 2020, Applied Surface Science.

[5]  L. Caputi,et al.  Toward Large-Scale Production of Oxidized Graphene , 2020, Nanomaterials.

[6]  C. Barbero,et al.  Smart Thermomechanochemical Composite Materials Driven by Different Forms of Electromagnetic Radiation , 2020, Journal of Composites Science.

[7]  C. Barbero,et al.  Highly effective antimicrobial nanocomposites based on hydrogel matrix and silver nanoparticles: long-lasting bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects. , 2019, Soft matter.

[8]  G. Pino,et al.  Micropatterning of fluorescent silver nanoclusters in polymer films by Laser Interference , 2019, Applied Surface Science.

[9]  C. Barbero,et al.  Improving the retention and reusability of Alpha-amylase by immobilization in nanoporous polyacrylamide-graphene oxide nanocomposites. , 2019, International journal of biological macromolecules.

[10]  Jacek K. Wychowaniec,et al.  Biomedical Applications of Graphene-Based Structures , 2018, Nanomaterials.

[11]  Yong Wu,et al.  Mechanism of Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Instability on High-Temperature Conditions , 2018, ACS omega.

[12]  C. Barbero,et al.  Nanocomposites based on pH-sensitive hydrogels and chitosan decorated carbon nanotubes with antibacterial properties. , 2018, Materials science & engineering. C, Materials for biological applications.

[13]  D. Bhattacharyya,et al.  Graphene-based materials and their composites: A review on production, applications and product limitations , 2018, Composites Part B: Engineering.

[14]  C. Barbero,et al.  Antibacterial polymeric nanocomposites synthesized by in-situ photoreduction of silver ions without additives inside biocompatible hydrogel matrices based on N-isopropylacrylamide and derivatives , 2017 .

[15]  Y. S. Zhang,et al.  Reduced Graphene Oxide-GelMA Hybrid Hydrogels as Scaffolds for Cardiac Tissue Engineering. , 2016, Small.

[16]  John Robertson,et al.  The mechanism of direct laser writing of graphene features into graphene oxide films involves photoreduction and thermally assisted structural rearrangement , 2016 .

[17]  G. Valušis,et al.  Recent Advances in Laser Utilization in the Chemical Modification of Graphene Oxide and Its Applications , 2016 .

[18]  C. Barbero,et al.  Rapid Fabrication of Periodic Patterns on Poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) Surfaces Using Direct Laser Interference Patterning , 2015 .

[19]  G. Račiukaitis,et al.  Influence of the laser irradiation on the electrochemical and spectroscopic peculiarities of graphene-chitosan composite film , 2014 .

[20]  E. Yousif,et al.  Photodegradation and photostabilization of polymers, especially polystyrene: review , 2013, SpringerPlus.

[21]  X. Duan,et al.  A low-temperature method to produce highly reduced graphene oxide , 2013, Nature Communications.

[22]  G. Račiukaitis,et al.  Reduction of graphite oxide to graphene with laser irradiation , 2013 .

[23]  Hui‐Ming Cheng,et al.  The reduction of graphene oxide , 2012 .

[24]  J. Burdick,et al.  Kinetic study of swelling-induced surface pattern formation and ordering in hydrogel films with depth-wise crosslinking gradient , 2010 .

[25]  C. Barbero,et al.  Large area fabrication of tuned polystyrene/poly(methylmethacrylate) periodic structures using laser interference patterning. , 2009, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[26]  Andre K. Geim,et al.  The rise of graphene. , 2007, Nature materials.

[27]  Seeram Ramakrishna,et al.  Electrospun poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) biodegradable polymer nanofibre tubes for peripheral nerve regeneration , 2004 .

[28]  Allan S Hoffman,et al.  Hydrogels for biomedical applications. , 2002, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[29]  Kenichi Nakashima,et al.  Infrared, Raman, and Near-Infrared Spectroscopic Evidence for the Coexistence of Various Hydrogen-Bond Forms in Poly(acrylic acid) , 1997 .

[30]  Sylvain Lazare,et al.  New surface modifications of polymer films with the excimer laser radiation , 1993, International Symposium on High Power Laser Systems and Applications.

[31]  R. Bansil,et al.  Laser Raman spectroscopy of polyacrylamide , 1981 .

[32]  C. Barbero,et al.  Smart surfaces: reversible switching of a polymeric hydrogel topography , 2012 .

[33]  R. Williams.  Protein secondary structure analysis using Raman amide I and amide III spectra. , 1986, Methods in enzymology.