title: Super stretchable hydrogel achieved by non-aggregated spherulites with diameters <5 nm.
abstract: The scope of hydrogel applications can be greatly expanded by the improvement of mechanical properties. However, enhancement of nanocomposite hydrogels (NC gels) has been severely limited because the size of crosslinking nanoparticles is too large, at least in one dimension. Here we report a new strategy to synthesize non-aggregated spherulite nanoparticles, with diameters <5 nm, in aqueous solution, and their enhancement to hydrogel. The stress and stretch ratio at rupture of our NC gel are 430 and 121 KPa with only 40-p.p.m. nanoparticle content. The NC gel containing 200-p.p.m. nanoparticles can revert to 90% of its original size after enduring 100-MPa compressive stress. Our results demonstrate that the suppression of nanoparticle size without aggregation helps to establish a super stretchable and high-toughness hydrogel network at very low inorganic content.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong 999077, China.
authors.forename: Guoxing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong 999077, China.
authors.forename: Zongjin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong 999077, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Materials Characterization and Preparation Facility, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong 999077, China.|Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong 999077, China.
authors.forename: Lu-Tao
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.affiliation: School of Material Science and Engineering, University of Jinan, 336, West Road of Nan Xinzhuang, Jinan 250022, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang