A tough and highly active catalyst carrier tailored by nanoparticles-encapsulation poly(ionic liquid) hydrogel: Synthesis and catalytic applications

The design and fabrication of functional hydrogel materials for catalysis environmental pollutants has gained immense interest. However, fabricating a hydrogel with both excellent mechanical and catalytic properties remains a challenge. Herein, we successfully achieved polyacrylamide/dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate bromododecane p(AM/DMLB) hydrogel with poly(ionic liquids) microspheres as toughened point and catalytic sites. Under the dual effect of ionic crosslinking network and hydrophobic association network, p(AM/DMLB)/PILs-MPs hydrogels exhibit excellent mechanical properties, such as the tensile strength (1.38 MPa), elongation (2000%), and toughness (1.15 MJ∙m−3). Simultaneously, the hydrogel could act as a template for loading of Pd nanoparticles without the addition of other additives and crosslinking agents. The metal-loaded composite hydrogels exhibits excellent catalytic property in the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reaction, and reduction rate constants (Kapp) was 0.226 min−1. The strategy offers a novel economically feasible route to catalytic use in the sewage-disposal industry.