Yarn-reinforced hydrogel composite produced from woven fabrics by simultaneous dissolution and cross-linking

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/cotton (Co) woven fabrics were produced by constructing Co as warp yarns and PVA as weft yarns in the fabric structure. As-prepared PVA/Co fabrics were treated with borax/water solution. Because of the simultaneous dissolution and gelation of PVA yarn in the fabric and transformation of PVA molecules into cross-linked gel structures, gel penetrated among the yarns in the matrix form and hence Co yarn-reinforced composite hydrogels were obtained. The retention time of water by composite hydrogels was first increased and then decreased by increasing borax concentration in the cross-linker solution. With yarn reinforcing, the tensile strength of hydrogel structure significantly increased. Mechanical properties of hydrogel composites were very variable depending on water content in the structure and tensile strength tremendously increased when water evaporated from the structure. Thermal and chemical characterizations of yarn-reinforced hydrogel composites were conducted in addition to swelling and mechanical analysis to investigate the performance of the hydrogel composites.