Instant Strong Adhesive Behavior of Nanocomposite Gels toward Hydrophilic Porous Materials

Abstract

We investigated the adhesion behavior of nanocomposite hydrogels (NC gels), consisting of unique organic (polymer)-inorganic (clay) network structures, toward inorganic and organic materials. The NC gels exhibit instant and strong adhesion to inorganic and organic substrates with hydrophilic porous surfaces. The NC gels instantly adhere to hydrophilic porous substrates (e.g., unglazed ceramic surfaces and polymer membranes) through simple light contact. In addition, a small piece of NC gel effectively joined two substrate samples (e.g., concrete blocks and bricks) through lamination of the interposing NC gel. The resulting conjoined materials were unable to be separated at the gel-substrate interface; rather, the gel itself fractured upon separation, which indicates that the adhesive strength at the interface is greater than the tensile strength of the NC gel. With the exception of NC gels with very high clay concentrations ( C's), instant strong adhesion and cohesive failure by subsequent stretching were observed for almost all NC gels composed of different polymers or different C values. A thermoresponsive NC gel was reversibly adhered and could be peeled from the surface by stretching (adhesive failure) at a temperature above its transition temperature. The mechanism of instant strong adhesion or reversible adhesion is discussed based on dangling chains that exist on the surfaces of the NC gels composed of polymer-clay networks. The cut surface of an NC gel generally exhibited a higher adhesive strength than the as-prepared surface because of longer dangling chains.

Particle packing into loose networks for tough and sticky composite gels

“…Because of a lower cross-linking ratio, current tough composite gels have many dangling chains on the surface and show sticky properties [28][29][30] . In a general hydrogel, in order to exhibit such properties, it is necessary to create an extremely low degree of crosslinking.…”

Stereocomplexation of Poly(lactic acid) and Chemical Crosslinking of Ethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate (EGDMA) Double-Crosslinked Temperature/pH Dual Responsive Hydrogels

“…However, the poor mechanical properties of hydrogels have always been one of the obstacles hindering its development in the medical field [ 16 , 17 ]. In order to improve the mechanical properties of hydrogels, many new hydrogel materials have been widely studied such as the topological gel (TP gel) [ 18 ], dual-crosslinked hydrogels (DN gel) [ 19 ], and nanocomposite gels (NC gel) [ 20 ]. All improve the mechanical properties of the gel by changing the structure of the gel network.…”

Non‐Volatile Glycerin Gel Enhanced by Sub‐5 nm Particles with Super Elasticity, Recoverability, and High Temperature Resistance

“…To achieve a gel material with strong mechanical properties, there are generally several methods based on previous research, such as double‐network gels, sliding‐ring gels, topological gels, and nanocomposite gels . Among them, nanocomposite gels can offer facile synthesis, superior mechanical strength, sensitive stimuli, and outstanding reversible properties at the same time.…”

“…So, the application of such NV gels are also limited in the fields which do not need highly robust mechanical properties, such as food engineering, [24] encapsulating material, [25,26] non-aqueous foams, [27] and drug delivery [23,28,29] et alTo achieve a gel material with strong mechanical properties, there are generally several methods based on previous research, such as double-network gels, [30,31] sliding-ring gels, [32,33] topological gels, [34][35][36] and nanocomposite gels. [12,[37][38][39] Among them, nanocomposite gels can offer facile synthesis, superior mechanical strength, sensitive stimuli, and outstanding reversible properties at the same time. The nanoparticles with high surface activity have a high interaction with polymer chains and can form substantial cross-linked points in the hydrogel to disperse stress and anchor polymer chains.In our previous work, we found out that the suppression of nanoparticle size without aggregation can help to establish a Nanocomposites A gel material that can be applied to industry needs to fulfill two requirements: excellent mechanical properties and high temperature resistance.…”

“…To achieve a gel material with strong mechanical properties, there are generally several methods based on previous research, such as double-network gels, [30,31] sliding-ring gels, [32,33] topological gels, [34][35][36] and nanocomposite gels. [12,[37][38][39] Among them, nanocomposite gels can offer facile synthesis, superior mechanical strength, sensitive stimuli, and outstanding reversible properties at the same time. The nanoparticles with high surface activity have a high interaction with polymer chains and can form substantial cross-linked points in the hydrogel to disperse stress and anchor polymer chains.…”