Bridge-rich and loop-less hydrogel networks through suppressed micellization of multiblock polyelectrolytes
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초록
내용
Most ABA triblock copolymer-based physical hydrogels form three-dimensional networks through micellar packing, resulting in decreased elasticity. This effect can be mitigated by maximizing the fraction of elastically effective bridges in the hydrogel network. Previous observations have shown that the ratio of bridges increases with increasing the relative length of the middle block and the polymer concentration. However, despite the numerous efforts, there was a limit to maximizing the fraction of bridges based on the loop-rich micelle structure. Herein, we report polyelectrolytes complex hydrogels with network constructed by designing block copolymers with a structure that maximizes the entropy penalty of micellization. These copolymers directly self-assemble into branched and bridge-rich network units (netmers) instead of forming self-entangled independent micelles. As a result, netmers are hierarchically stacked to create a bridge-rich network, increasing hydrogel elasticity.