A versatile hydrogel network-repairing strategy achieved by the covalent-like hydrogen bond interaction

Hydrogen bond engineering is widely exploited to impart stretchability, toughness, and self-healing capability to hydrogels. However, the enhancement effect of conventional hydrogen bonds is severely limited by their weak interaction strength. In nature, some organisms tolerate extreme conditions due to the strong hydrogen bond interactions induced by trehalose. Here, we report a trehalose network-repairing strategy achieved by the covalent-like hydrogen bonding interactions to improve the hydrogels' mechanical properties while simultaneously enabling them to tolerate extreme environmental conditions and retain synthetic simplicity, which proves to be useful for various kinds of hydrogels. The mechanical properties of trehalose-modified hydrogels including strength, stretchability, and fracture toughness are substantially enhanced under a wide range of temperatures. After dehydration, the modified hydrogels maintain their hyperelasticity and functions, while the unmodified hydrogels collapse. This strategy provides a versatile methodology for synthesizing extremotolerant, highly stretchable, and tough hydrogels, which expand their potential applications to various conditions.

Automated summary

Hydrogen bond engineering is utilized to enhance the mechanical properties and extreme condition tolerance of hydrogels. The trehalose network-repairing strategy using covalent-like hydrogen bonding interactions greatly improves the strength, stretchability, and toughness of modified hydrogels under a wide temperature range. This methodology provides a versatile approach to synthesize highly stretchable and tough hydrogels for various applications.