Volume 45, Issue 7 2300650
Research Article

Double-Network Organohydrogels Toughened by Solvent Exchange

Jianan Li

Jianan Li

Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, School of Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, 475004 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Xue Cheng

Xue Cheng

Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, School of Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, 475004 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Bingbing He

Bingbing He

Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, School of Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, 475004 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Longhui Li

Longhui Li

Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, School of Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, 475004 P. R. China

Search for more papers by this author
Huan Zhang

Corresponding Author

Huan Zhang

Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, School of Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, 475004 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
Jie Ju

Corresponding Author

Jie Ju

Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, School of Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, 475004 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
Xi Yao

Corresponding Author

Xi Yao

Key Laboratory for Special Functional Materials for Ministry of Education, School of Materials, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, 475004 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]

Search for more papers by this author
First published: 30 December 2023

Abstract

Double-network hydrogels based on calcium alginate are extensively exploited. Unfortunately, their low strength and unstable constitution to open environments limit their application potential. Herein, a new type of double-network organohydrogel (OHG) is proposed. By solvent exchange, a stable physical network is established based on dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)-alginate in the presence of a polyacrylamide network. The DMSO content endows tunable mechanical properties, with a maximum tensile strength of ≈1.7 MPa. Importantly, the OHG shows much better environmental stability compared to the conventional double-network hydrogels. Due to the reversible association of hydrogen bonds, the OHG possesses some unique properties, including free-shapeability, shape-memory, and self-adhesion, that offers several promising ways to utilize alginate-based gels for wide applications.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.