Without the introduction of new functional groups, it is often difficult to alter the properties of a substance, such as by changing it from a non-self-healing to a rapidly self-healing material. In this work, we report that the properties of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and acrylamide (HEMA/AAm) hydrogels can be easily altered from non-self-healing to rapidly self-healing materials by simply tuning the reaction temperature. The stretching capabilities of the hydrogels can be greatly enhanced by up to 30-fold. The hydrogels also exhibit good adhesive performance to various substrates. These results provide valuable insight regarding the design of self-healing hydrogels.
