Fig. 1: Schematic illustration of the development of LR-PVA20 eutectogel and its crystalline domain crosslinked network constructed via a VTSE strategy.
From: Mechanically robust eutectogels enabled by precisely engineered crystalline domains
a Initial freezing of PVA aqueous solution to fix the relatively extended PVA chains. b The frozen solution was immersed in DES at −18 °C (low-temperature solvent exchange), effectively dissolving the ice and minimizing disruptions to PVA chain conformation. This process also facilitated the re-establishment of inter-polymer hydrogen bonding, thereby inducing the formation of crystal nuclei or small-sized crystalline domains. c Upon warming to 30 °C (room-temperature solvent exchange), further crystal growth occurred along with the intensified motility of polymer chains, resulting in the formation of complete and mature crystalline domains with larger dimensions.
