Toward a versatile toolbox for cucurbit[n]uril-based supramolecular hydrogel networks through in situ polymerization |
| |
| Authors: | Ji Liu Cindy Soo Yun Tan Yang Lan Oren A. Scherman |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW United Kingdom;2. Melville Laboratory for Polymer Synthesis, Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 1EW United Kingdom Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, 94300 Malaysia |
| |
| Abstract: | The success of exploiting cucurbit[n]uril (CB[n])-based molecular recognition in self-assembled systems has sparked a tremendous interest in polymer and materials chemistry. In this study, polymerization in the presence of host-guest complexes is applied as a modular synthetic approach toward a diverse set of CB[8]-based supramolecular hydrogels with desirable properties, such as mechanical strength, toughness, energy dissipation, self-healing, and shear-thinning. A range of vinyl monomers, including acrylamide-, acrylate-, and imidazolium-based hydrophilic monomers, could be easily incorporated as the polymer backbones, leading to a library of CB[8] hydrogel networks. This versatile strategy explores new horizons for the construction of supramolecular hydrogel networks and materials with emergent properties in wearable and self-healable electronic devices, sensors, and structural biomaterials. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 3105–3109 |
| |
| Keywords: | cucurbit[n]uril host-guest systems hydrogels in situ polymerization self healing supramolecular hydrogel network toughness |
|
|
