Issue 20, 2023

Nacre-inspired layered composite gels with broad tunable mechanical strength and structural color for stress visualization

Abstract

The brick-and-mortar architecture of nacre shells brings radiant structural colors, high toughness, and strength, inspiring numerous designs for structural and optical materials. However, constructing structural color is not always easy, especially among soft materials where aligning components against random and dynamically active environments is generally difficult. Here, we propose a composite organohydrogel capable of visualizing multiple levels of stress, featuring broad tunable mechanical properties, dynamic mechanochromism, deep low working temperatures, and anti-drying attributes. In the composite gels, the intercalation between α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) nanoplates and poly-(diacetone acrylamide-co-acrylamide) is induced by shear-orientation-assisted self-assembly followed by solvent replacement. The highly tailorable (from ∼780 nm to ∼445 nm) range of colors was achieved by regulating the concentration of α-ZrP and glycerol inside the matrix. With the help from glycerol, the composite gels exhibited long-term stability (7 d) in the arid condition and remarkable low-temperature tolerance (−80 °C). The extraordinary mechanical property (compressive strength up to 119 MPa) of composite gels is achieved by the assembled α-ZrP plates with a small aspect ratio, high negative charge repulsion, and abundant hydrogen bonding sites. As a result, the mechanochromic sensor based on the composite gel enjoys a wide range of stress detection (0–1862 KPa). This study provides a new strategy for constructing high strength structural-colored gels, opening up opportunities for sensitive yet strong mechanochromic sensors in extreme environments.

Graphical abstract: Nacre-inspired layered composite gels with broad tunable mechanical strength and structural color for stress visualization

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
24 Mär 2023
Accepted
24 Apr 2023
First published
24 Apr 2023

Nanoscale, 2023,15, 9060-9068

Nacre-inspired layered composite gels with broad tunable mechanical strength and structural color for stress visualization

Y. Wang, X. Kan, Y. Liu, J. Ju and X. Yao, Nanoscale, 2023, 15, 9060 DOI: 10.1039/D3NR01362F

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements