Synthesis of Hydrogels and Their Progress in Environmental Remediation and Antimicrobial Application

As a kind of efficient adsorptive material, hydrogel has a wide application prospect within different fields, owing to its unique 3D network structures composed of polymers. In this paper, different synthetic strategies, crosslinking methods and their corresponding limitations and outstanding contributions of applications in the fields of removing environmental pollutants are reviewed to further provide a prospective view of their applications in water resources sustainability. Furthermore, the applications within the biomedical field, especially in wound dressing, are also reviewed in this paper, mainly due to their unique water retention ability, antibacterial ability, and good biocompatibility. Finally, the development direction of hydrogels in the fields of environmental remediation and biomedicine were summarized and prospected.

Automated summary

This paper reviews the wide application prospect of hydrogel as an efficient adsorptive material within different fields, thanks to its unique 3D network structures composed of polymers. The different synthetic strategies, crosslinking methods and their corresponding limitations and outstanding contributions in the fields of removing environmental pollutants are discussed, along with the prospective view of their applications in water resources sustainability. Furthermore, the applications within the biomedical field, especially in wound dressing, are also reviewed in this paper, mainly focusing on their unique water retention ability, antibacterial ability, and good biocompatibility. Finally, the development direction of hydrogels in the fields of environmental remediation and biomedicine are summarized and prospected.