Dough‐Kneading‐Inspired Universal Mixing Strategy for Mass Production of Multi‐Stimuli‐Responsive Hydrogels
Abstract Inspired by dough kneading, a straightforward and versatile mixing strategy is proposed for the safe, rapid, and large‐scale production of smart hydrogels. This approach is achieved by directly blending gel powders with an appropriate amount of swelling agent. The applied gel powders possess strong adhesion, enabling them to function as both glue for bonding different hydrogels and as healing agents for repairing damaged hydrogels, while their recyclability and reusability help to lower production costs and minimize environmental impact. The resulting hydrogel, featuring a unique internal heterogeneous porous structure, exhibits fast response speed, excellent recoverability, and high fatigue resistance. Mechanical and swelling tests reveal that this hydrogel is robust, capable of resisting large elongations (>400%) without breaking, enduring multiple compressions (53%, 10 cycles) without crushing, and maintaining integrity during prolonged immersion (≈1032 h). Through precise control of the composition and spatial distribution of gel powders and replaceable swelling agents, this strategy enables customizable hydrogel architectures with selective shape‐morphing functionality under programmed stimuli. Overall, this scalable mixing paradigm establishes an eco‐conscious manufacturing platform for high‐throughput synthesis of stimuli‐responsive materials, positioning it as a key enabler for next‐generation soft devices.
Authors
- Wen‐Yao Huang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1704-1629)
- Zhi‐Jun Meng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4697-3177)
- Chen Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1542-9777)
- Jie Xia (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9567-3763)
- Xiao‐Heng He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-4435-9829)
- Ye Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8649-582X)
- Zhiyuan Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2852-0564)
- Jingjing Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8998-4258)
- Yang‐Yang Ou
Institutions
- North Sichuan Medical University (CN)
- Xi'an University of Technology (CN)
- University of South China (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Functional Materials
- Published
- 2025-05-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202506602
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.55
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province