Advances in Multifunctional Hydrogel, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Physics and Theory".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 1551

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Materials for Light Industry, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China
Interests: tough hydrogel; composite hydrogel; structure-property relationship; functional hydrogel; toughening and strengthening mechanism
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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Fluid Power & Mechatronic System, Key Laboratory of Soft Machines and Smart Devices of Zhejiang Province, Center for X-Mechanics, Department of Engineering Mechanics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Interests: soft material mechanics; hydrogels; adhesion

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As an important soft material, polymeric hydrogels consist of three-dimensional networks with a large amount of water. Over the past 20 years, hydrogels have been extensively explored from both fundamental and application aspects due to their unique combination of solid and liquid properties. A large number of novel hydrogels have been developed with multiple functions, such as thermo-sensitivity, photo-sensitivity, self-healing, anti-fouling, strain-sensitivity, 3D-printing, etc. Hydrogels with these multifunctions have demonstrated diverse applications, such as biomedical engineering, environmental engineering, flexible electronic devices, and soft robotics.

Although significant progress has been achieved, multifunctional hydrogel is still a vital topic for researchers from all over the world. The increasing interest in multifunctional hydrogels may be due to their design and preparation, which often aims to obtain new functions or to improve the quality of existing functions. The raw materials of these hydrogels can be natural or synthetic polymers. To understand the functions of these hydrogels, a structure–property relationship can also be included. A biomimetic strategy can be adopted to develop multifunctional hydrogels.

This Special Issue entitled Advances in Multifunctional Hydrogel is devoted to the dissemination of high-quality original research articles or comprehensive reviews on cutting-edge developments in this interdisciplinary field. 

Dr. Yiwan Huang
Dr. Ping Rao
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • thermo-sensitive hydrogels
  • photo-sensitive hydrogels
  • self-healing hydrogels
  • anti-fouling hydrogels
  • tough and strong hydrogels
  • biomedical hydrogels
  • hydrogel adhesives
  • hydrogel sensors
  • 3D-printing hydrogels
  • hydrogel-based soft actuators
  • hydrogel-based electronics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 2986 KiB  
Article
NIR-Mediated Deformation from a CNT-Based Bilayer Hydrogel
by Shijun Long, Chang Liu, Han Ren, Yali Hu, Chao Chen, Yiwan Huang and Xuefeng Li
Polymers 2024, 16(8), 1152; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16081152 - 19 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1018
Abstract
Shape-shifting polymers are widely used in various fields such as intelligent switches, soft robots and sensors, which require both multiple stimulus-response functions and qualified mechanical strength. In this study, a novel near-infrared-light (NIR)-responsible shape-shifting hydrogel system was designed and fabricated through embedding vinylsilane-modified [...] Read more.
Shape-shifting polymers are widely used in various fields such as intelligent switches, soft robots and sensors, which require both multiple stimulus-response functions and qualified mechanical strength. In this study, a novel near-infrared-light (NIR)-responsible shape-shifting hydrogel system was designed and fabricated through embedding vinylsilane-modified carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into particle double-network (P-DN) hydrogels by micellar copolymerisation. The dispersed brittle Poly(sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane-1-sulfonate) (PNaAMPS) network of the microgels can serve as sacrificial bonds to toughen the hydrogels, and the CNTs endow it with NIR photothermal conversion ability. The results show that the CNTs embedded in the P-DN hydrogels present excellent mechanical strength, i.e., a fracture strength of 312 kPa and a fracture strain of 357%. Moreover, an asymmetric bilayer hydrogel, where the active layer contains CNTs, can achieve 0°–110° bending deformation within 10 min under NIR irradiation and can realise complex deformation movement. This study provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the design and manufacture of photoresponsive soft actuators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Multifunctional Hydrogel, 2nd Edition)
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