Visible-light-assisted multimechanism design for one-step engineering tough hydrogels in seconds

Cong Wang, Ping Zhang, Wenqing Xiao, Jiaqi Zhao, Mengting Shi, Hongqiu Wei, Zhouhu Deng, Baolin Guo, Zijian Zheng and You Yu ()
Additional contact information
Cong Wang: Northwest University
Ping Zhang: Northwest University
Wenqing Xiao: Northwest University
Jiaqi Zhao: Northwest University
Mengting Shi: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Hongqiu Wei: Northwest University
Zhouhu Deng: Northwest University
Baolin Guo: Xi’an Jiaotong University
Zijian Zheng: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom
You Yu: Northwest University

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Tough hydrogels that are capable of efficient mechanical energy dissipation and withstanding large strains have potential applications in diverse areas. However, most reported fabrication strategies are performed in multiple steps with long-time UV irradiation or heating at high temperatures, limiting their biological and industrial applications. Hydrogels formed with a single pair of mechanisms are unstable in harsh conditions. Here we report a one-step, biocompatible, straightforward and general strategy to prepare tough soft hydrogels in a few tens of seconds under mild conditions. With a multimechanism design, the network structures remarkably improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels and maintain their high toughness in various environments. The broad compatibility of the proposed method with a spectrum of printing technologies makes it suitable for potential applications requiring high-resolution patterns/structures. This strategy opens horizons to inspire the design and application of high-performance hydrogels in fields of material chemistry, tissue engineering, and flexible electronics.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18145-w Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-18145-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18145-w

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().