Enhanced thermal conductive and moisturizing hydrogels by constructing 3D networks of BN-OH and CNT-OH in alignment for burn therapy

Hydrogel treatment as a common cooling method could effectively ease pain and promote wounds healing by reducing thermal injury to the skin. However, the inherent low thermal conductivity of polymers limits the improvement of hydrogels’ cooling performance. The present study reports a simple method by combining thermal conductive fillers 1D hydroxylated multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT-OH) and 2D hydroxylated hexagonal boron nitride (BN-OH) to construct 3D conductive networks in hydrogels for cooling treatment and burn therapy. It is interesting that the thermal conductive fillers are aligned via varying the mass ratios of CNT-OH to BN-OH. Hence, the utilization efficiency of the thermal conductive fillers is improved; and the thermal conductivity of the hydrogels is enhanced up to 1.31 W*m−1*K−1, which is 226 % to the pristine hydrogel of 0.58 W*m−1*K−1. Consequently, the optimized hydrogel exhibits rapid cooling abilities that the heated porcine skin only takes 168 s to decrease 30 °C with the treatment of the hydrogel. More importantly, the thermal conductivity enhanced hydrogel exhibits the capacities of rapid cooling, reducing heat injury and pain relieving, and promoting wound healing in vivo tests, which prove that the enhanced thermal conductive and moisturizing hydrogel can be a good alternative for burn therapy.