Coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking
Abstract Polymer gels have been widely used in flexible electronics, soft machines and impact protection materials. Conventional gels usually suffer from the inherent conflict between stiffness and toughness, severely hampering their applications. This work proposes a facile yet versatile strategy t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55245-3 |
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| author | Jipeng Zhang Miaoqian Zhang Huixiong Wan Jinping Zhou Ang Lu |
| author_facet | Jipeng Zhang Miaoqian Zhang Huixiong Wan Jinping Zhou Ang Lu |
| author_sort | Jipeng Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Polymer gels have been widely used in flexible electronics, soft machines and impact protection materials. Conventional gels usually suffer from the inherent conflict between stiffness and toughness, severely hampering their applications. This work proposes a facile yet versatile strategy to break through this trade-off via the synergistic effect of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking, without the need for specific structure design or adding other reinforcements. Both effects are proven to boost the mechanical performance of the originally weak gel, and result in a stiff and tough conductive gel, achieving significant enhancements in elastic modulus and toughness by up to 366-, and 104-folds, respectively. The resultant gel achieves coordinatively enhanced stiffness (110.26 MPa) and toughness (219.93 MJ m−3), reconciling the challenging trade-off between them. In addition, the presented strategy is found generalizable to a variety of metal ions and polymers, offering a promising way to expand the applicability of gels. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b7d984d81d9a4a84bf06876c68a5f5e7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-b7d984d81d9a4a84bf06876c68a5f5e72025-01-05T12:39:00ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-01-0116111410.1038/s41467-024-55245-3Coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linkingJipeng Zhang0Miaoqian Zhang1Huixiong Wan2Jinping Zhou3Ang Lu4College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan UniversityCollege of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan UniversityCollege of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan UniversityCollege of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan UniversityCollege of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan UniversityAbstract Polymer gels have been widely used in flexible electronics, soft machines and impact protection materials. Conventional gels usually suffer from the inherent conflict between stiffness and toughness, severely hampering their applications. This work proposes a facile yet versatile strategy to break through this trade-off via the synergistic effect of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking, without the need for specific structure design or adding other reinforcements. Both effects are proven to boost the mechanical performance of the originally weak gel, and result in a stiff and tough conductive gel, achieving significant enhancements in elastic modulus and toughness by up to 366-, and 104-folds, respectively. The resultant gel achieves coordinatively enhanced stiffness (110.26 MPa) and toughness (219.93 MJ m−3), reconciling the challenging trade-off between them. In addition, the presented strategy is found generalizable to a variety of metal ions and polymers, offering a promising way to expand the applicability of gels.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55245-3 |
| spellingShingle | Jipeng Zhang Miaoqian Zhang Huixiong Wan Jinping Zhou Ang Lu Coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking Nature Communications |
| title | Coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking |
| title_full | Coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking |
| title_fullStr | Coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking |
| title_short | Coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal-domain cross-linking and chelation cross-linking |
| title_sort | coordinatively stiffen and toughen polymeric gels via the synergy of crystal domain cross linking and chelation cross linking |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55245-3 |
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