Superstrong, superstiff, and conductive alginate hydrogels

Abstract For the practical use of synthetic hydrogels as artificial biological tissues, flexible electronics, and conductive membranes, achieving requirements for specific mechanical properties is one of the most prominent issues. Here, we demonstrate superstrong, superstiff, and conductive alginate hydrogels with densely interconnecting networks implemented via simple reconstructing processes, consisting of anisotropic densification of pre-gel and a subsequent ionic crosslinking with rehydration. The reconstructed hydrogel exhibits broad ranges of exceptional tensile strengths (8–57 MPa) and elastic moduli (94–1,290 MPa) depending on crosslinking ions. This hydrogel can hold sufficient cations (e.g., Li + )…

• NR
  National Research Foundation

  Awards: 2022R1A2B5B02002097, 2020M3A9D3039720
• MO
  Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea

  Award: 2022R1A2B5B02002097
• UF
  U.S. Forest Service
• KF
  Korea Forest Service

  Award: 2020209B10-2222-BA01