The cetechol group has been extensively studied for the development of hydrogels due to their optimal adhesion to water. Although the development of hydrogels has advanced considerably, there is still room for further research. In my thesis I have worked on summarising the preparation and characterisation of various hydrogels based on the catechol-metal ion complex and describing their self-healing abilities. In the introduction I described the basic concepts of smart hydrogels. I then focused on the types of bonds involved in hydrogel self-healing. I then described the catechol itself in general and the different types of metal ions, followed by a description of the interactions of catechol-metal ion based hydrogels. This is followed by a detailed description of three specific catechol-metal ion hydrogels. The aforementioned hydrogels are dopamine-iron(III) ion-polyacrylic acid, 4-armed polyethylene glycol–dopamine–ion(III) ion and dopamine-iron(III) ion-hyaluronic acid.
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