Cover Feature: Synthesis of a Bis‐Urea Dimer and Its Effects on the Physical Properties of an Amphiphilic Tris‐Urea Supramolecular Hydrogel (Chem. Asian J. 8/2018)

Abstract

Supramolecular hydrogels were formed from mixtures of tris‐urea and a bis‐urea dimer in appropriate ratios, with the bis‐urea dimer acting as a covalent cross‐linker to connect the fibrous aggregates formed by the self‐assembly of tris‐urea. The introduction of these covalent cross‐links greatly influenced the dynamic viscoelasticity of the supramolecular hydrogels. In the supramolecular hydrogel of tris‐urea mixed with 5 % bis‐urea dimer, the storage modulus was 1.35 times higher than that of the supramolecular hydrogel of tris‐urea alone, and the crossover strain was extended from 5 % to over 20 %. More information can be found in the Communication by Hiroki Sawada and Masamichi Yamanaka on page 929 in Issue 8, 2018 (DOI:10.1002/asia.201800217).