title: Tuning the Hydration and Lubrication of the Embedded Load-Bearing Hydrogel Fibers.
abstract: One of the most prominent properties of hydrogels is their excellent hydrolubrication that derives from the strong hydration of the gel network. However, excessive hydration makes hydrogels exhibit a very poor mechanical property, which limits their practical applications. Here, we prepared a novel composite surface of hydrogel nanofibers embedded in an anodic aluminum oxide substrate which exhibited both excellent lubrication and a high load-bearing capacity. Through the copolymerization of acrylic acid and 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt, the gel network swelled sufficiently in aqueous solution and caused high osmotic pressure repulsion to bear heavy loads and hence exhibited excellent aqueous lubrication (μ ≈ 0.01). Notably, the friction coefficient of gels showed no dependence on the load in the experiment, whereas it was strongly influenced by the sliding velocity. Additionally, both electrolyte solution and ionic surfactants affect the conformation of the polymer chains, which results in a significant impact on the friction properties of hydrogel fibers.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Tianshui Middle Rd, 730000 Lanzhou, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , 100049 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Tianshui Middle Rd, 730000 Lanzhou, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , 100049 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yange
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Tianshui Middle Rd, 730000 Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Shuanhong
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Tianshui Middle Rd, 730000 Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Meirong
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Tianshui Middle Rd, 730000 Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Tianshui Middle Rd, 730000 Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Solid Lubrication, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Tianshui Middle Rd, 730000 Lanzhou, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhou