Polyzwitterionic Organohydrogel and Soft Composite with Tunable Sol-Gel Properties Enabling On-Demand...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Soft Matter Physics

Background:

• Zwitterionic hydrogels and aqueous polymers are utilized in various applications.
• The combination of particle binding and sol-gel transitions in zwitterions offers potential for responsive soft composites.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate organohydrogelation of poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide (PDMAPS).
• To explore the potential of PDMAPS-based organohydrogels for functionalized soft composites.

Main Methods:

• Organohydrogelation induced by adding dimethyl sulfoxide to aqueous PDMAPS solutions.
• Density functional theory (DFT) analysis to understand solvent-polymer interactions.
• Integration of functional fillers like MXenes and NdFeB microparticles.

Main Results:

• PDMAPS organohydrogels exhibit ultrahigh stretchability (>2800%), self-adhesion, remoldability, and tunable viscoelasticity.
• On-demand switching between sol-like and gel-like states by modulating solvent composition.
• Sol-like state enables mechano-tunable electromagnetic interference shielding with MXenes.
• Gel-like state yields mechano-magneto-electric transducers with NdFeB for strain detection and haptic feedback.

Conclusions:

• A versatile organohydrogel platform with tunable viscoelastic properties is introduced.
• The platform is suitable for on-demand functionalized soft composites.
• Suggests new design principles for transducing, sensing, and soft robotics applications.