Constructive adaptation of 3D-printable polymers in response to typically destructive aquatic environments

ABSTRACT: Abstract In response to environmental stressors, biological systems exhibit extraordinary adaptive capacity by turning destructive environmental stressors into constructive factors; however, the traditional engineering materials weaken and fail. Take the response of polymers to an aquatic environment as an example: Water molecules typically compromise the mechanical properties of the polymer network in the bulk and on the interface through swelling and lubrication, respectively. Here, we report a class of 3D-printable synthetic polymers that constructively strengthen their bulk and interfacial mechanical properties in response to the aquatic environment. The mechanism relies on a water-assisted additional cross-linking reaction in the polymer matrix and on the interface. As such, the typic

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PROVIDER: S-EPMC9896903 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature