Self-healing Hydrogelsand Underlying Reversible Intermolecular Interactions

Self-healing hydrogels have attracted growing attention over the past decade due to their biomimetic structure,biocompatibility,as well as enhanced lifespan and reliability,thereby have been widely used in various biomedical,electrical and environmental engineering applications.This feature article has reviewed our recent progress in self-healing hydrogels derived from mussel-inspired interactions,multiple hydrogen-bonding functional groups such as 2-ureido-4[1H]-pyrimidinohe(UPy),dynamic covalent bonds(eg,Schiff base reactions and boronic ester bonds).The underlying molecular basics of these interactions,hydrogel preparation principles,and corresponding performances and applications are introduced.The underlying reversible intermolecular interaction mechanisms in these hydrogels were investigated using nanomechanical techniques such as surface forces apparatus(SFA)and atomic force microscopy(AFM),providing fundamental insights into the self-healing mechanisms of the hydrogels.The remaining challenging issues and perspectives in this rapidly developing research area are also discussed.