Bioinspired structural hydrogels with highly ordered hierarchical orientations by flow-induced alignment of nanofibrils

Abstract Natural structural materials often possess unique combinations of strength and toughness resulting from their complex hierarchical assembly across multiple length scales. However, engineering such well-ordered structures in synthetic materials via a universal and scalable manner still poses a grand challenge. Herein, a simple yet versatile approach is proposed to design hierarchically structured hydrogels by flow-induced alignment of nanofibrils, without high time/energy consumption or cumbersome postprocessing. Highly aligned fibrous configuration and structural densification are successfully achieved in anisotropic hydrogels under ambient conditions, resulting in desired mechanical properties and…

• HU
  Huaqiao University
• SU
  Southeast University
• HE
  Higher Education Discipline Innovation Project

  Award: B16029
• FR
  Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities

  Awards: 20720220022, B16029