Pruksawan, S., Loh, J. E. T., Chong, K. H. Z., Chua, Z. A., Chong, Y. T., Chia, Z. Y., Yew, K. S. A., & Wang, F. (2025). Tough, self-healing and weldable hydrogel via thermal engineering optimized multi-scale structures. Communications Materials, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00818-y
Abstract:
Synthetic hydrogels are generally mechanically weak due to their single-component composition and simple polymeric networks, limiting their practical applications. Bioinspired strategies to engineer molecular- and microscale-level hierarchical structures have shown promise in the development of tough hydrogels but often involve complex, time- and energy-intensive processes. Here, we present a simple yet effective thermal engineering approach to optimize the multiscale structure of physically cross-linked polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogels. Thermal engineering enhances polymer chain packing at the molecular level and refines the porous structure at the microlevel, leading to synergistic mechanical improvements. Compared to as-prepared PAM hydrogels, the thermally engineered PAMs demonstrate an 11-fold increase in tensile strength and a 60-fold increase in toughness. Furthermore, the disentangling and re-packing of polymer chains at the molecular level during thermal engineering endows the hydrogel with self-healing capabilities and weldability to polymers. By integrating the PAM hydrogel with shape memory polyurethane, this approach facilitates precise hydrogel assembly, creating a versatile platform for applications in soft robotics, smart biomedical devices, and advanced electronics by leveraging desired polymer functionalities into hydrogel-based systems.
License type:
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research - Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity Individual Research Grants
Grant Reference no. : M23M6c0110
This research is supported by core funding from: Science and Engineering Research Council Central Research Fund
Grant Reference no. : TIMR211001bSERCRF
This research / project is supported by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research - Career Development Fund
Grant Reference no. : C233312015