Superstrong, superstiff, and conductive alginate hydrogels

Donghwan Ji, Jae Min Park, Myeong Seon Oh, Thanh Loc Nguyen, Hyunsu Shin, Jae Seong Kim, Dukjoon Kim, Ho Seok Park and Jaeyun Kim ()
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Donghwan Ji: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
Jae Min Park: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
Myeong Seon Oh: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
Thanh Loc Nguyen: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
Hyunsu Shin: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
Jae Seong Kim: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
Dukjoon Kim: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
Ho Seok Park: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)
Jaeyun Kim: Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU)

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract For the practical use of synthetic hydrogels as artificial biological tissues, flexible electronics, and conductive membranes, achieving requirements for specific mechanical properties is one of the most prominent issues. Here, we demonstrate superstrong, superstiff, and conductive alginate hydrogels with densely interconnecting networks implemented via simple reconstructing processes, consisting of anisotropic densification of pre-gel and a subsequent ionic crosslinking with rehydration. The reconstructed hydrogel exhibits broad ranges of exceptional tensile strengths (8–57 MPa) and elastic moduli (94–1,290 MPa) depending on crosslinking ions. This hydrogel can hold sufficient cations (e.g., Li+) within its gel matrix without compromising the mechanical performance and exhibits high ionic conductivity enough to be utilized as a gel electrolyte membrane. Further, this strategy can be applied to prepare mechanically outstanding, ionic-/electrical-conductive hydrogels by incorporating conducting polymer within the hydrogel matrix. Such hydrogels are easily laminated with strong interfacial adhesion by superficial de- and re-crosslinking processes, and the resulting layered hydrogel can act as a stable gel electrolyte membrane for an aqueous supercapacitor.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30691-z

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