Fabrication and mechanical properties of IL/PVA hydrogels (IMAGE)
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(a) Schematic diagram of the freeze-thaw assisted wet annealing synthesis strategy for tough, recyclable and bio-friendly IL/PVA hydrogels. (i) PVA/H2O homogeneous solution with disordered pre-dispersed network. ii) Crosslinking of PVA with BMIMBF4 to form IL/PVA hydrogels precursor. iii) Wet annealing to adjust macromolecular conformation in precursors. iv) IL/PVA hydrogels with high macromolecular entanglement and crystallinity obtained by cyclic freeze-thaw strategy (PVA: polyvinyl alcohol; BMIMBF4: 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate). Photographs show the state of the hydrogels during their formation. (b) Photograph of PIWF3 hydrogel under heating and freezing states. Scale bar, 1cm. (c) Photographs demonstrating the mechanical robustness of IL/PVA hydrogels and their ability to suspend 2.5 kg of water. Scale bar, 1 cm. (d) Tensile stress-strain curves of PHF1, PIWFx and recycled IL/PVA hydrogels. (e) Elastic modulus and toughness of PHF1 hydrogel, PIWF1, PIWF3 and recycled hydrogels calculated from (d). Error bars represent the SD of the measured values (n = 3). (f) Strength comparison of PIWF3 hydrogel (solid pentagram) and recycled IL/PVA hydrogel (hollow pentagram) with representative IL-based, organic/inorganic filler PVA hydrogels.
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