We tried to prepare a gel material enclosed in many compartments, inspired by plant body framework. According to this concept, hydrogels reinforced by polymer foam were fabricated, and their mechanical properties were investigated. We prepared sodium acrylate hydrogels reinforced by open-cell polyurethane foams. After the gelation, the mechanical properties were assayed by the compression test. The compression strength of the composite gel was ∼2 MPa, which was much higher than that of poly(sodium acrylate) hydrogel alone; and the compression modulus was also considerably higher than that of each constituent material alone.
- Naozumi Teramoto
- Ousuke Shigehiro
- Mitsuhiro Shibata
