Constructing tough bilayer hydrogel with excellent lubrication performance for load-bearing application. (June 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Ran; Zhang, Yuqi; Li, Yukun; Hu, Xuxu; Zhen, Jinming; Jia, Zhengfeng
• Is Part Of: Tribology international. Volume 184(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-06
• Subjects: Bilayer hydrogel -- High strength -- Water lubrication; Tribology -- Periodicals; 621.89
• DOI: 10.1016/j.triboint.2023.108436
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0301-679X

Abstract

Abstract: Numerous strategies have been proposed to improve the strength and stiffness of hydrogels, which significantly sacrificed water content, thereby compromising lubrication properties. Hence, it remains challenging to develop elastic and strong hydrogels with excellent lubrication properties for a wide range of applications. Inspired by the stratified structure of natural bio-tissues, the mechanically strong bilayer hydrogels comprising of soft lubricating layer and hard load-bearing layer were prepared. The top porous structure could trap water molecules to achieve low friction (COF∼0.009) under a heavily loaded condition of 5 N (contact stress∼2.5 MPa), while the bottom layer provided excellent load-bearing capacity. The bilayer hydrogel with high mechanical strength, superior lubrication and excellent wear-resistance properties has considerable potential in joint replacement and tissue scaffold. Graphical Abstract: In this work, we proposed a novel method to construct tough bilayer hydrogel with top porous layer and bottom load-bearing layer. It turns out that layered structure endowed hydrogel with low friction and high load bearing capacity. Furthermore, the bilayer hydrogel exhibited superior wear resistance feature, displaying considerable potential in tissue engineering. ga1 Highlights: Bilayer hydrogel was fabricated by the dissociation of Fe 3+ based on tough hydrogel. The top porous layer played a key role in reducing friction of hydrogel. The bottom layer with high strength provided an excellent load-bearing capacity.