Dramatic and Reversible Water‐Induced Stiffening Driven by Phase Separation within Polymer Gels

• Published in: Advanced functional materials Vol. 32; no. 12
• Main Authors: Ming, Xiaoqing, Yao, Le, Zhu, He, Zhang, Qi, Zhu, Shiping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Aqueous environments; Crystallization; Glass transition; Humidity; Ionic liquids; Lithium; Materials science; Mechanical properties; Modulus of elasticity; Phase separation; Polymer gels; Polymers; responsive polymers; Shape memory; Stiffening; Stiffness; water‐induced stiffening

Responsive polymer materials possessing variable mechanical properties have shown promising practical applications, whereas water has clear advantages among the triggers owing to its wide abundance, green characteristics, as well as mild conditions involved. However, ubiquitous water‐induced softeni...