Non‐Volatile Glycerin Gel Enhanced by Sub‐5 nm Particles with Super Elasticity, Recoverability, and High Temperature Resistance

Abstract

A gel material that can be applied to industry needs to fulfill two requirements: excellent mechanical properties and high temperature resistance. Previous research developed a hydrogel enhanced by sub‐5 nm particles, with excellent mechanical properties. While its application in the open environment is still limited by the volatilization of inner moisture, in this research, a non‐volatile gel (NV gel) enhanced by 5‐nm spherulites is manufactured. The NV gel remains stable after staying at 90 °C for 24 h. Meanwhile, being enhanced by sub‐5 nm nanospherulites, the NV gel shows good mechanical properties: with 200 ppm nanoparticle content, the tensile strength reaches 814 kPa and the compressive stress is 173.41 MPa at a recoverable 99% strain. The high temperature resistance is characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and mechanical testing after thermal treatment. Transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, and thermogravimetric analysis are used to evaluate the microstructure of NV gel. Possessing non‐volatile and good mechanical properties at the same time, this NV gel becomes very suitable for fulfilling the application requirement as an engineering material.

Preparation of chitosan and carboxymethylcellulose‐based polyelectrolyte complex hydrogel via SD‐A‐SGT method and its adsorption of anionic and cationic dye

“…Adsorption is one of the most effective and economic ways for the treatment of dye‐containing waste waters . Among various adsorbents, hydrogels exhibit higher performances for dye removals due to their three‐dimensional macromolecular networks of hydrophilic polymers cross‐linked by chemical and/or physical interactions . However, most of the hydrogels reported in literature are for the removal of a specific type of dyes, which limits their application to the treatment of wastewaters containing complex pollutions.…”

Mechanically Robust, Antifatigue, and Temperature-Tolerant Nanocomposite Ionogels Enabled by Hydrogen Bonding as Wearable Sensors

“…When used at temperatures near the boiling point of water, the dehydration of water was obvious and the elasticity of common hydrogels cannot be maintained . The present ionogels showed outstanding thermal stability and antidehydration owing to the integration of IL in the network.…”

“…To address this problem, methods have been developed to expand the service temperature range of the hydrogels. One of the methods is to import polyelectrolytes or zwitterionic polymers to fabricate intrinsic antifreezing hydrogels. − Another way is to construct organohydrogels by incorporating organic solvents with lower freezing points or higher boiling points into the hydrogel system, such as ethylene glycol, − glycerin, − and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). − While the incorporation of the polyols or organic solvents may impair the conductivity of the organohydrogels, the temperature-tolerant gels can also be produced by incorporating conductive metal electrolytes into the gel system. The inclusion of the metal electrolytes can lower the freezing point of water by interfering the interactions between water molecules to provide the gels with temperature endurance.…”