The hardest soft material has been successfully developed. The strength of the new reinforced fiber composite hydrogel is 5 times that of steel.

[China Packaging Network News] The team led by Professor Gong Jianping of Hokkaido University has developed a new material that looks soft but is as tough as steel. The fact is that it is 5 times harder than carbon steel and at the same time it has rubbery elasticity.

This new material is a hard and flexible mesh structure material. It is produced using hydrogels (usually used for making contact lenses) and glass fibers, and it can also be considered as a fiber-reinforced new composite material. Gong Jianping stated that this is the hardest soft material humans have ever obtained.

Their research results are published in journal Advanced Functional Materials. After research, the new composite exhibited much higher hardness and elasticity than the individual components, indicating that its toughness is the result of a synergistic effect. By comparing the energy required to destroy the material, the researchers concluded that the fiber-reinforced hydrogel material is 100 times harder than ordinary hydrogels and 25 times harder than ordinary glass fiber materials.

Figure | New Fiber Reinforced Hydrogel

Gong Jianping said that the material was inspired by nature. She said, “Whenever I see a flower grow from a very hard surface (such as concrete cracks), I am very curious, why such a small and lovely flower will have such a large amount of energy to break the 'hard' In fact, the gel is like a small flower, looks very soft and weak, but it can create tremendous energy."

Because of its reliability, durability, and flexibility, fiber-reinforced hydrogels have many potential applications, such as fashion and manufacturing applications, as biomaterials (manufacturing artificial ligaments and tendons that are subjected to strong load tensions). In addition, it can also be used as an artificial joint and harder than the real joint. Several companies have discussed with Gong Jianping the intention of cooperation in the development of artificial cartilage.

Gong Jianping said that the fiber-reinforced hydrogel has a water content of 40%, and is very environmentally friendly. Besides being used in the manufacture of artificial tissues, it can also be used in sportswear and protective clothing, such as helmets and body armor.

Of course, this result is not the most perfect, but it also has groundbreaking significance for similar research.