A tough and robust hydrogel constructed through carbon dots induced crystallization domains integrated orientation regulation

Huanxin Huo, Jingjie Shen, Jianyong Wan (), Haoran Shi, Hongxing Yang, Xin Duan, Yihong Gao, Yumeng Chen, Feng Kuang, Hongshan Li, Long Yang () and Guanben Du ()
Additional contact information
Huanxin Huo: Southwest Forestry University
Jingjie Shen: Southwest Forestry University
Jianyong Wan: Southwest Forestry University
Haoran Shi: Southwest Forestry University
Hongxing Yang: Southwest Forestry University
Xin Duan: Southwest Forestry University
Yihong Gao: Southwest Forestry University
Yumeng Chen: Southwest Forestry University
Feng Kuang: Southwest Forestry University
Hongshan Li: Southwest Forestry University
Long Yang: Southwest Forestry University
Guanben Du: Southwest Forestry University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Tough hydrogels show great potential applied in flexible electronics, sensors and soft robotics, but it remains challenging to combine high strength, toughness and stability. Here, we report the use of carbon dots (CDs) to induce the formation of crystalline domains, to give materials with favourable properties. The CDs act as nanoscale nucleation-sites within polyvinyl alcohol hydrogels, forming dense crystalline domains that serve as physical crosslinking sites. These domains enable a “pinning effect” that enhances energy dissipation and restricts crack propagation. The resulting hydrogels exhibit strong mechanical performance, including tensile strength up to 156 MPa and toughness of 225 MJ m-3, while also maintaining good swelling resistance. This strategy is generalizable across different types of CDs and polymer systems. In addition, the hydrogels demonstrate stable conductivity under water, making them suitable for applications in underwater motion sensing and flexible supercapacitors. This work provides a scalable approach to engineer robust, multifunctional hydrogels.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61535-1 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:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-61535-1

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

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61535-1

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 ().