Gels and hydrogels articles from across Nature Portfolio

It is useful to be able to determine the changes a material has undergone, but this is challenging in synthetic systems. Here, the authors report the development of a hydrogel materials conditioned by swelling, allowing determination of exposure to heat and salt by nucleation changes.

Random copolymers of 4-phenylazophenyl methacrylate and phenethyl methacrylate in a typical ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethylsulfonylimide, [C₂mim][TFSI] exhibit reversible, light-controlled LCST-type phase transitions. Photoisomerization of the azobenzene units shifts the cloud-point temperature, creating a bistable temperature window between 25 and 37 °C, where UV light induces dissolution and visible light restores phase separation. This simple molecular design enables non-volatile, light-switchable thermoresponsive polymer systems.

Achieving chirality continuum, particularly reversible in three-dimensional solids, remains challenging due to the intrinsic difficulties in nanoscale accuracy over extended architectures. Here, the authors introduce a decoupled design that integrates magnetic field-directed achiral superstructures of luminomagnetic nanoparticles with post-curing mechanical manipulation.

Development of materials for anticounterfeiting is challenging, with high levels of complexity required. Here, the authors report the development of piezochromic polymer hydrogels with the optical properties from clusteroluminescence effects allowing patterning for physically unclonable functions.

Among sorbents used in atmospheric water harvesting, hydrogel salt-composites show exceptional performance at a low cost, but their durability remains unexplored. Here the authors systematically study hydrogel-salt composite degradation and its mechanisms under different conditions.

Engineered blood clots using rapidly crosslinked red blood cells form within seconds, greatly improving toughness and adhesion while effectively stopping bleeding and enhancing tissue repair.

We developed a hydrogel-based iontronic reservoir system as a neuromorphic neuroprosthesis. It achieved more than 90% accuracy on multiple recognition tasks, muscle fatigue sensing via pH-responsive dynamics of its self-healing hydrogels, and rapid and robust functional recovery (0.02 s). The system supported adaptive closed-loop neural stimulation in vivo based on voice commands and muscle states.

An article in Advanced Materials reports a fabrication strategy that yields poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels with a record high isotropic toughness of 424 MJ m⁻³ alongside exceptional strength and extensibility.

An article in Nature Communications reports a versatile platform for creating slippery surfaces with precise control over their structural topologies.