Tough Hydrogels for Load‐Bearing Applications

Abstract

Tough hydrogels have emerged as a promising class of materials to target load‐bearing applications, where the material has to resist multiple cycles of extreme mechanical impact. A variety of chemical interactions and network architectures are used to enhance the mechanical properties and fracture mechanics of hydrogels making them stiffer and tougher. In recent years, the mechanical properties of tough, high‐performance hydrogels have been benchmarked, however, this is often incomplete as important variables like water content are largely ignored. In this review, the aim is to clarify the reported mechanical properties of state‐of‐the‐art tough hydrogels by providing a comprehensive library of fracture and mechanical property data. First, common methods for mechanical characterization of such high‐performance hydrogels are introduced. Then, various modes of energy dissipation to obtain tough hydrogels are discussed and used to categorize the individual datasets helping to asses the material's (fracture) mechanical properties. Finally, current applications are considered, tough high‐performance hydrogels are compared with existing materials, and promising future opportunities are discussed.

Innovative Acrylic Resin-Hydrogel Double-Layer Coating: Achieving Dual-Anchoring, Enhanced Adhesion, and Superior Anti-Biofouling Properties for Marine Applications

“…This verified the dissipation effect of copper AGM on external stress. This tensile strength was similar to the tensile strength of interpenetrating double-network hydrogels reported in previous studies [33,34], indicating that the mechanical properties and dissipative properties of the dissipative gel microspheres and those of an interpenetrating dissipative gel are the same, but AGM can provide a second anchoring effect on the primer. Figure 3c demonstrates the mechanism of how DNDAH dissipates external mechanical energy.…”