Polyzwitterionic double-network ionogel electrolytes for supercapacitors with cryogenic-effective stability

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

Zhang

et al. 2022

Self Cite

Although hydrogel-based electronic devices have received a lot of interest for good flexibility, biocompatibility, and multifunctionality over the past decades, underwater instability (especially in saline solutions) still limits their practical applications to a wide range. Herein, a class of tough, conductive, and anti-swelling double-network hydrogel is developed by combining the zwitterionic poly(acrylamide-co-(3-(1-(4-vinylbenzyl)-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-3-ium-3-yl) propane-1-sulfonate)) chemical network and water-resistant polyvinyl alcohol physical network with conducting polypyrrole. The resultant gel exhibits considerable mechanical strength (0.65 MPa), stable swelling dynamics in water and seawater, as well as excellent ionic conductivity (3.96 S/m). Furthermore, the assembled gel-based sensor shows distinct strain/temperature bi-modal detection. Moreover, by controlling the dimension of conductive networks, an all-in-one supercapacitor can be obtained, with ultra-high capacitance (299.79 mF/cm2) and power density (2.49 mW/cm2). We believe that this strategy will inspire researchers to develop more reliable underwater, self-powered multi-modal sensing devices in the future.

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anti-Swelling Zwitterionic Hydrogels as Multi-Modal Underwater Sensors and All-in-One Supercapacitors

ACS Appl. Polym. Mater.

Zhang

et al. 2022

Self Cite

“…Each microtubule was composed of 2 TDPS and 3 CD molecules. Moreover, in order to avoid the strong hydration ability of zwitterionic ions in water, organogel [ 72 , 117 , 118 ] prepared by glycerine–water mixture solution and ionogel [ 119 , 120 , 121 ] prepared by ionic liquid have also received extensive attention. Zhao et al [ 119 ] prepared p(SBMA-co-AAm) hydrogels in ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ( [EMIM] [DCA]).…”

Section: Recent Advances In Mechanical Reinforced Zwitterionic Hydrogelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent Advances in Mechanical Reinforcement of Zwitterionic Hydrogels

Lin

Wei

Liu

et al. 2022

Gels

As a nonspecific protein adsorption material, a strong hydration layer provides zwitterionic hydrogels with excellent application potential while weakening the interaction between zwitterionic units, leading to poor mechanical properties. The unique anti-polyelectrolyte effect in ionic solution further restricts the application value due to the worsening mechanical strength. To overcome the limitations of zwitterionic hydrogels that can only be used in scenarios that do not require mechanical properties, several methods for strengthening mechanical properties based on enhancing intermolecular interaction forces and polymer network structure design have been extensively studied. Here, we review the works on preparing tough zwitterionic hydrogel. Based on the spatial and molecular structure design, tough zwitterionic hydrogels have been considered as an important candidate for advanced biomedical and soft ionotronic devices.

“…Polymer foams with excellent micro/nanocellular structure are widely used in electronics, the automotive industry, the aerospace industry, packaging, building construction, and medical applications because of their lightweight, good mechanical strength, and high thermal insulation properties. − Recently, foaming of polymer blends has received extensive attention within both scientific and industrial communities because it can well integrate the diverse properties of different polymers into a hybrid foam, which cannot be obtained with conventional homopolymer foam materials. − However, most polymer blends are thermodynamically immiscible because of the low mixing entropy of polymer chains and unfavorable enthalpic interaction between the components. , As a result, poor interfacial interaction and unstable morphologies are often presented in polymer blends, leading to the formation of large domains that seriously restrict their foaming behavior and mechanical performance. Therefore, enhancing interfacial adhesion and strength is very essential for the improvement of foamability and end-use properties of polymer blends.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening Interfacial Adhesion and Foamability of Immiscible Polymer Blends via Rationally Designed Reactive Macromolecular Compatibilizers

Zhang

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

et al. 2022

Self Cite

Foams made of immiscible polymer blends have attracted great interest in both academia and industry, because of the integration of desirable properties of different polymers in a hybrid foam. However, the foamability and end-use properties are hampered because of the poor interfacial strength within the immiscible blends. Furthermore, few investigations have been carried out on the mechanisms by which interfacial strength and structure affect the foamability of polymer blends. In this work, two different reactive interfacial compatibilizers, i.e., poly(styrene-coglycidyl methacrylate)-graf t-poly(L-lactide) and poly(styrene-coglycidyl methacry-late)-graf t-poly(D-lactide), abbreviated as SG-g-PLLA and SG-g-PDLA, respectively, were designed and synthesized through reactive melt blending and subsequently applied to strengthen the interfacial strength and foamability of immiscible poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) blends. Both compatibilizers could remarkably enhance the interfacial strength and foamability of the PBAT/PLLA blends, as evidenced by the significantly elongated dispersed phase in the resulting cocontinuous phase and more than 7000-fold increase in the cell density. Furthermore, the improved foamability was quantitively explained by the reduced gas diffusion and increased melt strength. Strikingly, the SG-g-PDLA introduced a stereocomplex crystal at the interface (i-SC), providing highly strengthened interfaces and nanoscale heterogeneous nucleation sites, which led to an energetically favorable cell nucleation. Moreover, foams with specifically laminated cell structures were fabricated by combining pressure-induced flow processing and i-SC strengthened interfaces. This work provides insight into the relationship between interfacial strength and formability of immiscible polymer blends and offers new possibilities for controlling cell morphologies and designing unique cell structures for polymer foams.