Strong Tough Polyampholyte Hydrogels via the Synergistic Effect of Ionic and Metal–Ligand Bonds

Despite existing in biological systems, developing synthetic polyampholyte (PA) hydrogels constructed by both ionic and metal–ligand bonds remains challenging. Herein, a simple secondary equilibrium approach is proposed to fabricate strong and tough PA hydrogels via the synergy of ionic and metal–li...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advanced functional materials 2021-09, Vol.31 (37), p.n/a
Main Authors: Huang, Yiwan, Xiao, Longya, Zhou, Ju, Liu, Tao, Yan, Yongqi, Long, Shijun, Li, Xuefeng
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Deionization
Equilibrium
Hydrogels
ionic bonds
Ligands
Materials science
Mechanical properties
metal–ligand bonds
polyampholyte hydrogels
Polyampholytes
Strain
strain sensors
strengthening
Synergistic effect
toughening
Viscoelasticity
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Summary:Despite existing in biological systems, developing synthetic polyampholyte (PA) hydrogels constructed by both ionic and metal–ligand bonds remains challenging. Herein, a simple secondary equilibrium approach is proposed to fabricate strong and tough PA hydrogels via the synergy of ionic and metal–ligand bonds. The original PA gels (constructed by ionic bonds) are first dialyzed in multivalent metal‐ion solutions to reach a swelling equilibrium and then moved to deionized water to dialyze excess free ions to achieve a new equilibrium. Through this approach, the original PA gel network can be optimized and eventually constructed by ionic and metal–ligand bonds, enabling a synergistic reinforcement. By selecting different original PA gel systems and diverse multivalent metal‐ions, the proposed approach is proved to be generalizable to fabricate strong and tough PA gels. Additionally, the hydrogels have stable ion‐conductivity even at the water‐equilibrium state, making them promising as strain sensors. The viscoelastic and elastic contributions to the mechanical properties of the hydrogels by a viscoelastic model are also discussed to further understand the strengthening and toughening mechanisms. The proposed strategy is simple but effective for achieving strong and tough PA‐based hydrogels. This study also provides new insights for PA hydrogels in electrolyte environments. This study demonstrates a facile approach to fabricate strong and tough polyampholyte (PA) hydrogels via the synergy of ionic and metal–ligand bonds. By selecting different PA systems and diverse metal‐ions, the proposed approach is universal to fabricate strong and tough PA gels. Viscoelastic and elastic contributions to mechanical properties of the hydrogels are also discussed by a viscoelastic model.
ISSN:1616-301X
1616-3028
DOI:10.1002/adfm.202103917