Ostwald ripening for designing time-dependent crystal hydrogels.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
; 63(17): e202320095, 2024 Apr 22.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38419359
ABSTRACT
Ostwald ripening (OR), a classic solution theory describing molecular transfer from metastable crystal to stable one, is applied to design time-dependent crystal hydrogels that can automatically change their mechanical properties. Using a system made from crosslinked polyacrylamide (PAM) and sodium acetate (NaAc), we demonstrate that metastable fibrous crystal networks of NaAc preferably form in PAM hydrogels via a polymer-involving mismatch nucleation. These fibrous crystals would undergo OR and evolve into isolated bulk crystals, leading to a significant reduction in material rigidity (179â
folds) and interfacial adhesion (20â
folds). This transformation can be applied to program time-dependent self-recovery in shape and self-delamination. Since OR is a ubiquitous, robust feature of various crystals, the approach reported here represents a new direction for designing advanced transient soft materials.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Language:
En
Journal:
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl
Year:
2024
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China