High-strength hydrogels: Fabrication, reinforcement mechanisms, and applications

With the continuous appearance and expansion of high-strength hydrogels in emerging fields such as industry, medicine, and green development, the synthesis and application of high-strength hydrogels have developed dramatically and achieved remarkable results from the aspects of raw materials, preparation methods, and reinforcement mechanisms. However, there is still a lack of systematic reviews on high-strength hydrogels. Herein, we first discuss the advantages of natural and synthetic materials, and the characteristics of high-strength hydrogels prepared from different raw materials; we then expound on the influence mechanism of physical interactions or chemical bonds on the strength of the hydrogel from three aspects: physical cross-linking, chemical cross-linking, and dynamic chemical cross-linking; at last, we systematically expound the strengthening strategies, including double network/multi-network, nanocomposite, topology, supramolecular polymerization, and characteristics and strengthening mechanisms of such high-strength hydrogels. In addition, based on the development status of high-strength hydrogels, we combined the application requirements and the existing drawbacks of high-strength hydrogels to propose their possible development directions in the future.

Automated summary

With the continuous emergence and expansion of high-strength hydrogels in various fields, the synthesis and application of these hydrogels have made significant progress. This review focuses on the advantages of natural and synthetic materials, the characteristics of high-strength hydrogels from different raw materials, and the influence of physical interactions or chemical bonds on their strength. Furthermore, the strengthening strategies and the possible future development directions of high-strength hydrogels are also discussed.