Journal
ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES
Volume 8, Issue 45, Pages 31304-31310Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b09881
Keywords
polyion complex hydrogel; 3D printing; tough hydrogel; printability; gelation; rheology
Funding
- Thousand Young Talents Program of China
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [11321202, 11402056, 51403184]
- Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China [LR16A020001]
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Polyion complex (PIC) hydrogels have been proposed as promising engineered soft materials due to their high toughness and good processability. In this work, we reported manufacturing of complex structures with tough PIC hydrogels based on three-dimensional (3D) printing technology. The strategy relies on the distinct strength of ionic bonding in PIC hydrogels at different stages of printing. In concentrated saline solution, PIC forms viscous solution, which can be directly extruded out of a nozzle into water, where dialyzing out of salt and counterions results in sol gel transition to form tough physical PIC gel with intricate structures. The printability of PIC solutions was systematically investigated by adjusting the PIC material formula and printing parameters in which proper viscosity and gelation rate were found to be key factors for successful 3D printing. Uniaxial tensile tests were performed to printed single fibers and multilayer grids, both exhibiting distinct yet controllable strength and toughness. More complex 3D structures with negative Poisson's ratio, gradient grid, and material anisotropy were constructed as well, demonstrating the flexible printability of PIC hydrogels. The methodology and capability here provide a versatile platform to fabricate complex structures with tough PIC hydrogels, which should broaden the use of such materials in applications such as biomedical devices and artificial tissues.
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