Work

Mechanical Training‐Induced Restructuring Enables Self‐Extendability and Mechanical Consistency in Organohydrogels

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Echinoderms, such as sea cucumber, dynamically change their body size to environmental stimuli. By contrast, typical synthetic materials cannot reinvent their structures once formed. We propose a strategy for developing "self-extendability" polymeric materials that can be structurally tuned by repetitive mechanical stress stimulation. Polyion complex glycerol (PICG) hydrogels undergo self-extendability and mechanical consistency, and the materials substantially grow in deformation under repetitive loading through a diffusion of disentangled dense structure to sparse structure. This strategy is generalizable to other polymers and topologies. Additionally, the gel is able to adhere to 3D surface. These advancements make our gels ideal for e-skin substrate materials; they simultaneously offer extended performance and curved surface attachment. This work may open an avenue for the development of self-extendability materials for intelligent devices.

Source: Small

DOI: 10.1002/smll.73981

Authors: Longya Xiao, Jinxin Lai, Shasha He, Quan Hu, Yiwan Huang, Hongjie Jiang

Institutions: South China University of Technology, Hubei Provincial Key Laboratory of Green Materials for Light Industry, Hubei University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications

Subfield: Molecular Medicine

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: National Natural Science Foundation of China

Award: G457955367