NING Fang-dong, FU Mei-ting, ZHANG Hui-ying, ZHANG Yu-qi, ZHANG Ran. Preparation and Characterization of Tough Hydrogels Reinforced by Polymeric Nanospheres[J]. Polymer Bulletin, 2023,36(1):91-98.
NING Fang-dong, FU Mei-ting, ZHANG Hui-ying, ZHANG Yu-qi, ZHANG Ran. Preparation and Characterization of Tough Hydrogels Reinforced by Polymeric Nanospheres[J]. Polymer Bulletin, 2023,36(1):91-98. DOI: 10.14028/j.cnki.1003-3726.2023.01.008.
cationic nanospheres (NPs) were selected as hydrophobic cross-linked centers to enhance the mechanical strength of hydrogel. The hydrophobic monomer lauryl methacrylate (LMA) adsorbed on the surface of NPs to form hydrophobic association in the presence of surfactants
and then the NPs cross-linked P(AAm-LMA)-NPs hydrogels were obtained by
in situ
radical polymerization. Under deformation
the dynamic cross-linking centers formed by nanospheres in the hydrogel network could effectively dissipate energy
via
fracture and recombination
which greatly improved the strength and toughness of hydrogels. As a result
P(AAm-LMA)-NPs hydrogels showed remarkable mechanical properties with an excellent tensile strength of 860 kPa
high stretchability of 1280% and superior toughness of 3.8 MJ/m
3
. This work constructed tough hydrogels reinforced by polymeric nanospheres and displayed potential applications in biomedical and industrial fields.