Stimuli-responsive hydrogels are flourishing; however, a multiresponsive
luminescent hydrogel actuator in which the stimuli do not interfere
with each other is still difficult to produce. Here, a smart luminescent
bilayer hydrogel actuator with shape memory and reversible luminescence
switch behaviors under the co-stimulation of pH and heating is reported.
Under alkaline condition, chitosan-containing layer generates physical
microcrystals to fix the temporary shape of the actuator while lanthanide
emits bright luminescence. Upon acid treatment, the actuator recovers
to its original shape and the luminescence is quenched since the “antenna
effect” between organic ligand and lanthanide ions is disrupted.
It is to be noticed that this multiresponsive cycle can be repeated
several times without interfering each other. This work is expected
to have potential application prospects in the fields of biomimetic
soft robots, sensors, and camouflage.
Luminescent hydrogels have shown great potential in many fields, such as lighting, display, imaging, and sensing, because of their unique optical properties, biocompatibility, and easy processing. Organic-inorganic hybrid self-assembly can not only enhance the hydrogels' mechanical strength, but also retain their self-healing ability. Herein, a luminescent supramolecular hydrogel is reported, which is formed via self-assembly of the negatively charged Laponite nanosheets and cationic lanthanide coordination polymer. The corresponding results reveal that the multiple binding interaction between Laponite and the polymeric binder is vital for improving the mechanical performance of the obtained luminescent supramolecular hydrogel.
The development of repairable MOF-polymer hybrid materials will greatly extend their service life by repairing fractured parts on the spot; however, robust glassy polymers are hardly to self-heal below glass...
The self-healing of glassy polymer materials on site has always been a huge challenge due to their frozen polymer network. We herein report self-repairable glassy luminescent film by assembling a lanthanide-containing polymer with randomly hyperbranched polymers possessing multiple hydrogen (H) bonds. Because of multiple H bonds, the hybrid film exhibits enhanced mechanical strength, with high glass transition temperature (T g ) of 40.3 °C and high storage modulus of 3.52 GPa, meanwhile, dynamic exchange of multiple H bonds enables its rapid roomtemperature self-healing ability. This research provides new insights in preparing mechanical robust yet repairable polymeric functional materials.
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