Mechanical Robust and Self-Healable Supramolecular Hydrogel

Development of self-healing polymers with spontaneous self-healing capability and good mechanical performance is highly desired and remains a great challenge. Here, mechanical robust and self-healable supramolecular hydrogels have been fabricated by using poly(2-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) brushes modified silica nanoparticles (SiO2@PDMAEMA) as multifunctional macrocrosslinkers in a poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) network structure. The SiO2 nanoparticles serve as noncovalent crosslinkers, dissipating energy, whereas the electrostatic interactions between cationic PDMAEMA and anionic PAA render the hydrogel self-healing property. This process provides a simple and broadly applicable strategy to produce mechanical strong and self-healable materials.