Anti-Freezing Nanocomposite Organohydrogels with High Strength and Toughness.

ABSTRACT: Hydrogels based on nanocomposites (NC) structure have acquired a great deal of interest, but they are still limited by relatively low mechanical strength, inevitably losing elasticity when applied below subzero temperatures, due to the formation of ice crystallization. In this study, an anti-freezing and mechanically strong Laponite NC organohydrogel was prepared by a direct solvent replacement strategy of immersing Laponite NC pre-hydrogel into ethylene glycol (EG)/water mixture solution. In the organohydrogel, a part of water molecules was replaced by EG, which inhibited the formation of ice crystallization even at extremely low temperatures. In addition, the formation of hydrogen bonds between Laponite and the monomers of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) and hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA) end

SUBMITTER: Zheng H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9500911 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature