Intrinsic Anti‐Freezing and Unique Phosphorescence of Glassy Hydrogels with Ultrahigh Stiffness and Toughness at Low Temperatures

Abstract Most hydrogels become frozen at subzero temperatures, leading to degraded properties and limited applications. Cryoprotectants are massively employed to improve anti‐freezing property of hydrogels; however, there are accompanied disadvantages, such as varied networks, reduced mechanical properties, and the risk of cryoprotectant leakage in aqueous conditions. Reported here is the glassy hydrogel having intrinsic anti‐freezing capacity and excellent optical and mechanical properties at ultra‐low temperatures. Supramolecular hydrogel of poly(acrylamide‐ co ‐methacrylic acid) with moderate water content (≈50 wt.%) and dense hydrogen‐bond associations is in a glassy state at room temperature. Since…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Awards: 22122206, 52173012, 51973189
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Award: 2020YFE0100300