Instant Thermal Switching from Soft Hydrogel to Rigid Plastics Inspired by Thermophile Proteins
Open accessAbstract
Proteins of thermophiles are thermally stable in a high‐temperature environment, adopting a strategy of enhancing the electrostatic interaction in hydrophobic media at high temperature. Herein, inspired by the molecular mechanism of thermally stable proteins, the synthesis of novel polymer materials that undergo ultrarapid, isochoric, and reversible switching from soft hydrogels to rigid plastics at elevated temperature is reported. The materials are developed from versatile, inexpensive, and nontoxic poly(acrylic acid) hydrogels containing calcium acetate. By the cooperative effects of hydrophobic interaction and ionic interaction, the hydrogels undergo significant spinodal decomposition and subsequent rubbery‐to‐glassy transition when heated to an elevated temperature. As a result, the gels exhibit super‐rapid and significant hikes in stiffness, strength, and toughness by up to 1800‐, 80‐, and 20‐folds, respectively, when the temperature is raised from 25 to 70 °C, while the volumes of the gels are almost unchanged. As a potential application, the performance of the materials as athletic protective gear is demonstrated. This work provides a pathway for developing thermally stiffened materials and may significantly broaden the scope of polymer applications.
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Shape memory polymer with programmable recovery onset
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Nonoyama, T., Lee, Y. W., Ota, K., Fujioka, K., Hong, W., & Gong, J. P.
- Affiliations
- Hokkaido University (JP)
- Iowa State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Nonoyama, Takayuki
- Gong, Jian Ping
- Venue
- Advanced Materials
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2019-11-18
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- e1905878-e1905878
- ISSN
- 0935-9648 (ISSN-L)
- 1521-4095
- OpenAlex
- W2983381153
- Cited by
- 208
- References
- 27
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 39 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 1
- FWCI
- 6.22
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Advanced Materials (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Hokkaido University Collection of Scholarly and Academic Papers (Hokkaido University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Funders
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (JP17H06144)
- École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris
- Hokkaido University
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (17K19146, 17H06144, 17H06376)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Advanced Materials and Mechanics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Material Dynamics and Properties
- Keywords
- thermal switching, polyacrylic acid hydrogel, calcium acetate, spinodal decomposition, hydrophobic interactions, ionic interactions, biomimetic materials, stiffness enhancement, toughness
- MeSH terms
- Acetates, Hardness, Humans, Plastics, Polymers, Protective Devices, Proteins, Temperature, Calcium Compounds, Hydrogels, Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
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