Fig. 4: Strong adhesion in the nanoconfined Hec-PAAm hydrogels.
From: Stiff and self-healing hydrogels by polymer entanglements in co-planar nanoconfinement
a, Illustration of lap-shear adhesion test and nanoconfinement at the interface. b, Nanoconfinement leads to enhanced adhesion. c, Adhesion strength (black) and shear modulus (red) depending on the concentration of hectorite nanosheets for in situ-formed hydrogels. The values are presented as mean values ± standard deviations from five samples. d, Strong adhesion on positively and negatively charged surfaces, showing the universal effect of nanoconfinement. e, Photographs showing different substrates adhered by hydrogels of 2 cm2 and thickness of 0.5 mm holding a weight of 2.5 kg. Scale bar, 5 cm. f, Radar map showing superior Young’s modulus, UTS, self-healing efficiency and adhesion strength on glass in the nanoconfined hydrogel (4.6 wt% hectorite) compared with reported systems.
