Modeling strategy for dynamic-modal mechanophore in double-network hydrogel composites with self-growing and tailorable mechanical strength

Abstract

Smart materials with self-growing and tailorable mechanical strength have wide-range potential applications in self-healing, self-repairing, self-assembly, artificial muscle, soft robots and intelligent devices. However, their working mechanisms and principles are not fully understood yet and mathematically and physical modeling is a huge challenge, as traditionally synthesized materials cannot self-grow and reconstruct themselves once formed or deformed. In this study, a phenomenological constitutive model was developed to investigate the working mechanisms of self-growing and tailorable mechanical strength in double-network (DN) hydrogel composites, induced by mechanochemical transduction of dynamic-modal mechanophore. An extended Maxwell model was firstly employed to characterize the mechanical unzipping of hydrogel composites, and then mechanochemically induced destruction and reconstruction processes of brittle network in the hydrogel composite were formulated. The enhanced mechanical

Solvent-aided phase separation in hydrogel towards significantly enhanced mechanoresponsive strength

“…Due to the phase transition from aggregation structure transition to phase separation, the Young's modulus ( Furthermore, the constitutive stress-elongation ratio relationship has been investigated for the hydrogel undergoing solvent-aided phase separation by means of poor DMF solvent. According to the extended Maxwell model [38] (as shown in Fig. S1 and Eq.…”

“…In the volume concentration of DMF solvent ranged from 0% to 70%, there is no phase separation in the PAAM hydrogel, and the constitutive stress-elongation ratio relationship is governed by the rubber elasticity theory [37]. With the volume concentration of DMF above 70%, the constitutive relationship of stress-elongation ratio is governed by the extended Maxwell model [38], of which the dual branches are used to characterize the PAAM-water and DMF-water phases, respectively [15], as shown in Fig. 5(b).…”

“…As shown in Fig. 7(c), analytical and experimental results [12] Finally, the effect of microphase separation on crack bifurcation of PNIPAm/PDMA hydrogel has been investigated using the extended Maxwell model [38]. Before and after crack bifurcations, the constitutive stress-elongation ratio relationships can be expressed as,…”

A unified numerical approach for soft to hard magneto-viscoelastically coupled polymers

“…In the case of hard MAPs, particles will retain their magnetisations even after the removal of the applied field. Some promising applications of MAPs include remote-controlled soft robotics, precision and controlled drug deliver, smart vibration absorbers, morphing structures, base isolation in seismic devices, tunable stiffness actuators, soft and flexible electronics, automotive suspension bushing, sensing devices, to mention a few [4,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”

A dynamic model of complexly mechanoresponsive chain-poly[n]-catenations in double-network polyampholyte hydrogels

“…Several other types of DN hydrogels have further been developed to improve the mechanical strength and toughness, e.g., replacing the covalent bonds (which have poor reversibility), using ionic bonds [27][28][29][30] or hydrogen bonds [31], and adding monomers in solvents [32,33]. It has been reported that polyampholyte DN hydrogel has a classical entanglement effect in its macromolecule chains due to the charge attractions of ionic bonds, thus enhancing the mechanical properties of the DN hydrogels [27,28].…”