Super tough double network hydrogels and their application as biomaterials

The double network (DN) technique, developed by authors’ group, provides an innovative and universal pass way to fabricate hydrogels with super high toughness comparable to rubbers. The excellent mechanical performances of DN hydrogels originate from the specific combination of two networks with contrasting structures. The first brittle network serves as sacrificial bonds, which breaks into small clusters to efficiently disperse the stress around the crack tip into the surrounding damage zone, while the second ductile polymer chains act as hidden length, which extends extensively to sustain large deformation. Based on the principle of DN hydrogel, the author’s group recently has developed several novel systems…