article · Advanced Functional Materials
Introducing metal ions into hydrogels can yield good ionic conductivity and energy dissipation, but conventional soaking methods often limit ion diffusion and bonding, resulting in weak materials. Drawing inspiration from leather mineral tanning, a new fabrication approach controls hydrogel accessibility through sequential pickling and basifying steps. Using polyvinyl alcohol and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) hydrogels with ligands mimicking leather collagen, researchers incorporated zirconium, chromium, aluminium, and iron ions. The tanning approach dramatically enhanced mechanical strength and toughness compared to conventional soaking, especially with chromium and zirconium ions. Tests demonstrated tensile strength reaching 7.79 megapascals for zirconium-based hydrogels and toughness reaching 28.01 megajoules per cubic metre for chromium-based hydrogels. Characterisation and simulations confirmed that ions first permeate the network before crosslinking with carboxylates, creating robust hydrogels suitable for flexible force sensors.
Hydrogels used in flexible electronics often lack the durability required for sustained physical use. By borrowing techniques from leather manufacturing, this research demonstrates a practical chemical processing route to make hydrogels significantly stronger and tougher. This advances the development of robust, wear-resistant soft materials that maintain functional ionic conductivity for modern sensing technologies.
This method could enable the development of durable flexible force sensors for wearable electronics or robotic devices. The primary industrial beneficiaries would be manufacturers of flexible electronics and specialised sensor components. Given that the work focuses on material synthesis, mechanical benchmarking, and theoretical modelling, the technology is at an early laboratory stage and requires prototype device validation before commercial use.
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Abstract By virtue of reversible energy dissipation and good ionic conductivity, metal ions have been extensively introduced to construct hydrogels. However, the traditional soaking method to prepare metal ions coordination hydrogels (MI‐HG) faces the challenge of diffusion and combination of metal ions, leading to weak mechanical properties. Inspired by the leather mineral tanning mechanism, a strategy that controls the accessibility of hydrogels by pickling and basifying processes thus significantly improving the strength and toughness of MI‐HG is proposed. To achieve this, polyvinyl alcohol/poly(acrylamide‐co‐acrylic acid) (PVA/PAM‐co‐PAA) hydrogels‐bearing ligands similar to those of leather collagen are fabricated. Zr 4+ , Cr 3+ , Al 3+ , and Fe 3+ commonly used for mineral tanning are chosen as the metal source. The results demonstrate that the mechanical properties of the products (MI‐HG Tanning ) are significantly promoted, especially for Cr 3+ and Zr 4+ . For example, the tensile strength of Zr‐HG Tanning and toughness of Cr‐HG Tanning reach 7.79 ± 0.41 Mpa and 28.01 ± 3.1 MJ m −3 , approximately three and seven times that of their soaking samples. From macro to micro characterization and by theoretical simulation, the mineral tanning mechanism of metal ions first permeating and then effectively combining with carboxylates, thus improving the mechanical performance of MI‐HG Tanning is deciphered, the products of which are promised applications in flexible force sensors.
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DOI: 10.1002/adfm.202313633
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