Amphibious Polymer Materials with High Strength and Superb Toughness in Various Aquatic and Atmospheric Environments.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 37683287.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1002/adma.202307290.
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Abstract
Herein, the fabrication of amphibious polymer materials with outstanding mechanical performances, both underwater and in the air is reported. A polyvinyl alcohol/poly(2-methoxyethylacrylate) (PVA/PMEA) composite with multiscale nanostructures is prepared by combining solvent exchange and thermal annealing strategies, which contributes to nanophase separation with rigid PVA-rich and soft PMEA-rich phases and high-density crystalline domains of PVA chains, respectively. Benefiting from the multiscale nanostructure, the PVA/PMEA hydrogel demonstrates excellent stability in harsh (such as acidic, alkaline, and saline) aqueous solutions, as well as superior mechanical behavior with a breaking strength of up to 34.8 MPa and toughness of up to 214.2 MJ m<sup>-3</sup> . Dehydrating the PVA/PMEA hydrogel results in an extremely robust plastic with a breaking strength of 65.4 MPa and toughness of 430.9 MJ m<sup>-3</sup> . This study provides a promising phase-structure engineering route for constructing high-performance polymer materials for complex load-bearing environments.