title: An anisotropic hydrogel with electrostatic repulsion between cofacially aligned nanosheets.
abstract: Machine technology frequently puts magnetic or electrostatic repulsive forces to practical use, as in maglev trains, vehicle suspensions or non-contact bearings. In contrast, materials design overwhelmingly focuses on attractive interactions, such as in the many advanced polymer-based composites, where inorganic fillers interact with a polymer matrix to improve mechanical properties. However, articular cartilage strikingly illustrates how electrostatic repulsion can be harnessed to achieve unparalleled functional efficiency: it permits virtually frictionless mechanical motion within joints, even under high compression. Here we describe a composite hydrogel with anisotropic mechanical properties dominated by electrostatic repulsion between negatively charged unilamellar titanate nanosheets embedded within it. Crucial to the behaviour of this hydrogel is the serendipitous discovery of cofacial nanosheet alignment in aqueous colloidal dispersions subjected to a strong magnetic field, which maximizes electrostatic repulsion and thereby induces a quasi-crystalline structural ordering over macroscopic length scales and with uniformly large face-to-face nanosheet separation. We fix this transiently induced structural order by transforming the dispersion into a hydrogel using light-triggered in situ vinyl polymerization. The resultant hydrogel, containing charged inorganic structures that align cofacially in a magnetic flux, deforms easily under shear forces applied parallel to the embedded nanosheets yet resists compressive forces applied orthogonally. We anticipate that the concept of embedding anisotropic repulsive electrostatics within a composite material, inspired by articular cartilage, will open up new possibilities for developing soft materials with unusual functions.
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Mingjie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuhiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishida
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Materials Science, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ebina
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Materials Science, International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.affiliation: RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan.
authors.forename: Takaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hikima
authors.affiliation: RIKEN SPring-8 Center, 1-1-1 Kouto, Sayo, Hyogo 679-5198, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takata
authors.affiliation: 1] RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan [2] Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Takuzo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Aida
mesh_terms: D016880:Anisotropy; D032701:Biomimetics; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000737:chemistry; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D009556:Niobium / Q000737:chemistry; D055672:Static Electricity; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D009556:Niobium; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D014025:Titanium