A polyacrylic acid(PAA)/gelatin(Gela)/polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)hydrogel was prepared by copolymerization,cooling,and freezing/thawing methods.This triplenetwork(TN)structure hydrogel displayed superior mechanical propert...A polyacrylic acid(PAA)/gelatin(Gela)/polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)hydrogel was prepared by copolymerization,cooling,and freezing/thawing methods.This triplenetwork(TN)structure hydrogel displayed superior mechanical properties,low swelling ratio and self-healing properties,The superior mechanical properties are attributed to the triple helix association of Gela and PVA crystallites by reversible hydrogen bonding.The characterization results indicated that the fracture stress and the strain were 808 kPa and 370% respectively,while the compression strength could reach 4443 kPa and the compressive modulus was up to 39 MPa under the deformation of 90%.The hydrogen bonding in PVA contributed to maintain and improve the self-healing ability of hydrogels.Every type of hydrogels exhibited a higher swelling ratio under alkaline conditions,and the swelling ratios of PAA,PAA/PVA and PAA/Gela hydrogels were 27.71,12.30 and 9.09,respectively.The PAA/Gela/PVA TN hydrogel showed the lowest swelling ratio(6.57)among these hydrogels.These results indicate that the novel TN hydrogels possess good environmental adaptability and have potential applications in the biomedical engineering and sensor field.展开更多
Living organisms rely on materials sequestration from the environment to strengthen their bodies.Such constant activity provides necessary supplies for critical biological functions,which is difficult by man-made stru...Living organisms rely on materials sequestration from the environment to strengthen their bodies.Such constant activity provides necessary supplies for critical biological functions,which is difficult by man-made structures due to the lack of a dynamic sequestration mechanism.In this study,it is shown that an epidermis-like smart coating can respond to changes in salinity to allow a spontaneous and progressive strengthening when supported by steel as a sustained iron source.The self-strengthening is enabled by reaction-coupled diffusion,which makes possible the dynamic sequestration of iron from the in situ rusted steel,partially mimicking the iron accumulation process in a mussel.The emergence of iron-phenolic coordination bonds continuously improves modulus,hardness,and adhesion,achieving a strengthening efficiency comparable to mussel byssus.Interestingly,the bilayer design ensures long-term self-healing performance even during strengthening and a mechanically robust anticorrosion coating with an autonomic protection mechanism and gradually enhanced barrier properties during prolonged service.Our results provide a new venue for the design of stimuli-responsive smart materials characteristic of an open biological system and may serve as the basis for creating highly intelligent devices with sophisticated functionality.展开更多
基金funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.51662036 and 21467024)the Graduate Student Scientific Research Innovation Projects in Xinjiang Autonomous Region,China(XJGRI2017046).
文摘A polyacrylic acid(PAA)/gelatin(Gela)/polyvinyl alcohol(PVA)hydrogel was prepared by copolymerization,cooling,and freezing/thawing methods.This triplenetwork(TN)structure hydrogel displayed superior mechanical properties,low swelling ratio and self-healing properties,The superior mechanical properties are attributed to the triple helix association of Gela and PVA crystallites by reversible hydrogen bonding.The characterization results indicated that the fracture stress and the strain were 808 kPa and 370% respectively,while the compression strength could reach 4443 kPa and the compressive modulus was up to 39 MPa under the deformation of 90%.The hydrogen bonding in PVA contributed to maintain and improve the self-healing ability of hydrogels.Every type of hydrogels exhibited a higher swelling ratio under alkaline conditions,and the swelling ratios of PAA,PAA/PVA and PAA/Gela hydrogels were 27.71,12.30 and 9.09,respectively.The PAA/Gela/PVA TN hydrogel showed the lowest swelling ratio(6.57)among these hydrogels.These results indicate that the novel TN hydrogels possess good environmental adaptability and have potential applications in the biomedical engineering and sensor field.
基金M.Y.thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant no.22071075)for financial supportS.H.Feng thanks the National Natural Science Foundation of China(grant nos.21831003 and 91959201)for financial support.
文摘Living organisms rely on materials sequestration from the environment to strengthen their bodies.Such constant activity provides necessary supplies for critical biological functions,which is difficult by man-made structures due to the lack of a dynamic sequestration mechanism.In this study,it is shown that an epidermis-like smart coating can respond to changes in salinity to allow a spontaneous and progressive strengthening when supported by steel as a sustained iron source.The self-strengthening is enabled by reaction-coupled diffusion,which makes possible the dynamic sequestration of iron from the in situ rusted steel,partially mimicking the iron accumulation process in a mussel.The emergence of iron-phenolic coordination bonds continuously improves modulus,hardness,and adhesion,achieving a strengthening efficiency comparable to mussel byssus.Interestingly,the bilayer design ensures long-term self-healing performance even during strengthening and a mechanically robust anticorrosion coating with an autonomic protection mechanism and gradually enhanced barrier properties during prolonged service.Our results provide a new venue for the design of stimuli-responsive smart materials characteristic of an open biological system and may serve as the basis for creating highly intelligent devices with sophisticated functionality.
