Lee Ji Ha, Park Jaehyeon, Park Jin-Woo, Ahn Hyo-Jun, Jaworski Justyn, Jung Jong Hwa
Department of Chemistry and Research Institute of Natural Sciences Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Korea.
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju 660-701, Korea.
Nat Commun. 2015 Mar 23;6:6650. doi: 10.1038/ncomms7650.
Supramolecular gels comprised of low-molecular-weight gelators are generally regarded as mechanically weak and unable to support formation of free-standing structures, hence, their practical use with applied loads has been limited. Here, we reveal a technique for in situ generation of high tensile strength supramolecular hydrogels derived from low-molecular-weight gelators. By controlling the concentration of hydrochloric acid during hydrazone formation between calix-[4]arene-based gelator precursors, we tune the mechanical and ductile properties of the resulting gel. Organogels formed without hydrochloric acid exhibit impressive tensile strengths, higher than 40 MPa, which is the strongest among self-assembled gels. Hydrogels, prepared by solvent exchange of organogels in water, show 7,000- to 10,000-fold enhanced mechanical properties because of further hydrazone formation. This method of molding also allows the gels to retain shape after processing, and furthermore, we find organogels when prepared as gel electrolytes for lithium battery applications to have good ionic conductivity.
由低分子量凝胶剂组成的超分子凝胶通常被认为机械性能较弱，无法支撑独立结构的形成，因此，它们在有外加负载情况下的实际应用受到限制。在此，我们揭示了一种从低分子量凝胶剂原位生成高拉伸强度超分子水凝胶的技术。通过在基于杯[4]芳烃的凝胶剂前体形成腙的过程中控制盐酸浓度，我们调节了所得凝胶的机械和延展性能。在没有盐酸的情况下形成的有机凝胶表现出令人印象深刻的拉伸强度，高于40兆帕，这在自组装凝胶中是最强的。通过在水中对有机凝胶进行溶剂交换制备的水凝胶，由于进一步形成腙，其机械性能提高了7000至10000倍。这种成型方法还使凝胶在加工后能够保持形状，此外，我们发现当制备作为锂电池应用的凝胶电解质时，有机凝胶具有良好的离子导电性。
