Super Tough, Ultrastretchable, and Thermoresponsive\nHydrogels with Functionalized Triblock Copolymer Micelles as Macro-Cross-Linkers

Abstract

Vinyl-functionalized\nthermosensitive Pluronic F127 micelles have\nbeen used as multifunctional cross-links for the synthesis of super\ntough, highly resilient and thermoresponsive nanomicelle (NM) hydrogels.\nPluronic F127 diacrylate (F127DA) with vinyl groups on both ends self-assembled\nin aqueous solution into micelles. Such micelles served as multifunctional\nmacro-cross-links to copolymerize with acrylamide (AAm) monomers,\ngenerating novel NM hydrogels with extraordinary tensile and compressive\nproperties, without using any chemical cross-linkers. Uniaxial tensile\ntests demonstrated a fracture strain above 2265%, an ultimate stress\nof 276 kPa, and a fracture energy of 2.34 MJ/m³. Under\ncompression tests, these hydrogels did not fracture up to 98% strain\nand 62 MPa stress. Cyclic compressive loading–unloading tests\nat 90% strain showed no decay of the hyseteresis energy, indicating\nan unprecedented fatigue resistance.