Mechanical Robust and Self‐Healable Supramolecular Hydrogel

Abstract

Development of self‐healing polymers with spontaneous self‐healing capability and good mechanical performance is highly desired and remains a great challenge. Here, mechanical robust and self‐healable supramolecular hydrogels have been fabricated by using poly(2‐dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) brushes modified silica nanoparticles (SiO 2 @PDMAEMA) as multifunctional macrocrosslinkers in a poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) network structure. The SiO 2 nanoparticles serve as noncovalent crosslinkers, dissipating energy, whereas the electrostatic interactions between cationic PDMAEMA and anionic PAA render the hydrogel self‐healing property. This process provides a simple and broadly applicable strategy to produce mechanical strong and self‐healable materials. image