A facile method for synthesizing free-shaped and tough double network hydrogels using physically crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) as an internal mold
Abstract
The creation of double network hydrogels (DN gels), which show extremely high mechanical strength, enable hydrogels to be applied both in medical and industrial fields. However, one obstacle for various applications is the lack of formability of DN gels, owing to the brittleness of the first network PAMPS gels. In order to overcome this problem, we synthesized free-shaped DN gels (called PVA-DN gels) by using a physically cross-linked