High-performance reverse thermoresponsive hydrogel enabled by one-pot PDMS-enriched domain crosslinking

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Optoelectronics

Background:

• Reverse thermoresponsive hydrogels offer unique optical properties for applications like information encryption and thermal displays.
• Challenges exist in combining optical responsiveness with mechanical robustness, moisture retention, and adhesion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly stretchable and reverse thermoresponsive hydrogel with integrated functionalities.
• To address limitations in current thermoresponsive materials for advanced optical applications.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of a polyacrylamide (PAM) hydrogel crosslinked with PDMS-enriched microgel-like domains using an emulsion-assisted one-pot strategy.
• Characterization of the hydrogel's mechanical properties, thermoresponsive optical behavior, water retention, adhesion, and strain sensing capabilities.

Main Results:

• The hydrogel achieved 5680% stretchability and 5.8 MJ m⁻³ toughness.
• Demonstrated reversible opaque-to-transparent transition upon heating due to entropy-driven domain reorganization.
• Exhibited enhanced water retention, strong substrate adhesion, and NaCl-enabled strain sensing.

Conclusions:

• The developed hydrogel is a structurally simple, multifunctional platform for next-generation optical encryption and flexible photonic devices.
• The material's unique properties overcome existing challenges in thermoresponsive hydrogel technology.