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Published on: March 25, 2015
Strengthening gelatin hydrogels using the Hofmeister effect
Xujie Wang1, Congde Qiao1, Song Jiang1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Biobased Material and Green Papermaking, Qilu University of Technology (Shandong Academy of Sciences), Daxue Rd. 3501, Jinan 250353, P. R. China. cdqiao@qlu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
A simple yet effective soaking treatment has been proposed to fabricate hydrogels with desirable mechanical properties, but the strengthening mechanism of hydrogels lacks an in-depth study. Here, we investigated the influence of kosmotropic citrate anion on the structure and properties of immersed gelatin hydrogels. The obtained hydrogels possessed the properties of high strength, modulus and toughness simultaneously. The dehydration of hydrogels facilitated the interactions among gelatin molecules, resulting in the formation of helix structures. Both the content and length of the triple helices increase with an increase in citrate concentration, which in turn contributes to the strengthening of hydrogels. The excellent mechanical performances of these hydrogels may open up new applications for protein materials.
