Super-tough, anti-fatigue, self-healable, anti-fogging, and UV shielding hybrid hydrogel prepared via simultaneous dual in situ sol-gel technique and radical polymerization

J Mater Chem B. 2019 Dec 7;7(45):7162-7175. doi: 10.1039/c9tb01625b. Epub 2019 Oct 24.

Abstract

In this work, we propose a universal strategy to construct tough hybrid hydrogels simply by a dual in situ sol-gel reaction of vinyltriethoxysilane (VTES) and tetrabutyl titanate (TBOT), as well as an in situ radical polymerization of acrylamide (AM) and VTES. Interestingly, nano-SiO2 and nano-TiO2 acted as both multifunctional hybrid crosslinker and nanofiller in this hybrid hydrogel. Meanwhile, covalent bonding existed between TiO2 and SiO2, as well as polymers and SiO2, and non-covalent interactions existed between TiO2 and polymers, as well as the organic skeleton. The obtained hybrid hydrogel exhibited high tensile strength (38.78-330.50 kPa), medium tensile elastic modulus (26.53-120.48 kPa), ultrahigh compression strength (1.86-6.22 MPa), unprecedented fatigue resistance, and self-healability due to its unique hierarchical inorganic hybrid crosslinking mechanism. In addition, this hydrogel also displayed considerable anti-fogging and UV-shielding property. Hence, this hybrid hydrogel will have many potential uses in soft robots, substitutes for load-bearing tissues, and optical devices.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acrylamide / chemistry
  • Butanols / chemistry
  • Free Radicals / chemistry
  • Hydrogels / chemical synthesis*
  • Hydrogels / chemistry
  • Organometallic Compounds / chemistry
  • Particle Size
  • Polymerization
  • Silanes / chemistry
  • Silicon Dioxide / chemistry
  • Surface Properties
  • Titanium / chemistry
  • Ultraviolet Rays

Substances

  • Butanols
  • Free Radicals
  • Hydrogels
  • Organometallic Compounds
  • Silanes
  • titanium dioxide
  • Acrylamide
  • tetrabutoxy titanium
  • Silicon Dioxide
  • vinyltriethoxysilane
  • Titanium