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Bioinspired Tunable Sacrificial Bonds Endowing Tetra‐PEG Based PU Hydrogel with Tunable Mechanical Properties, Shape‐Memory, and Self‐Healing Functions
Author(s) -
Lin Chengyu,
Li Zhao,
Lei Kun,
Jia Haiyan,
Yu Lin,
Zheng Zhen,
Wang Xinling
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201700542
Subject(s) - materials science , self healing , tetra , peg ratio , composite material , self healing hydrogels , shape memory alloy , polymer chemistry , medicine , alternative medicine , finance , pathology , economics , paleontology , biology
Development of hydrogels with excellent and tunable mechanical properties combining with multifunctions is an intriguing issue in material science and engineering. Herein, bioinspired tunable sacrificial bonds are introduced into the tetra‐poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) based polyurethane (PU) (TP) network to afford a hydrogel with tunable mechanical properties, shape‐memory, and self‐healing functions. The mussel‐inspired compound of Lysine‐dopamine (LDA) is introduced into the network of TP hydrogel through polyurethane/polyurea chemistry to form LDA‐tetra‐PEG‐PU (LTP) hydrogel. As catechol groups in LDAs can intermolecularly interact with each other and can also coordinate with ferric ions with different coordination ratios, these physical interactions with different strengths in the afforded LTP hydrogel construct kinds of sequentially tuned sacrificial bonds. As a result, these sacrificial bonds preferentially rupture prior to the covalent network upon external loading, which dissipate the energy and endow the hydrogel with advanced and postadjustable mechanical properties. This mechanism is investigated in detail. Furthermore, the LTP hydrogel shows multifunctions such as shape‐memory and self‐healing abilities. In addition, the tetra‐PEG based hydrogel shows remarkable thermoresponsiveness that the hydrogel distinctly contracts with the increase of the temperature. The improved mechanical strength and multifunctions should enlarge the application areas of the tetra‐PEG based hydrogel in various fields.