For typical synthetic materials, continue mechanical loading usually cause damage and even failure, because they are closed systems, without substance exchange with surroundings and structural reconstruction after damage. Double-network (DN) hydrogels have recently been demonstrated to generate radicals under mechanical loading. In this work, DN hydrogel provided with sustained monomer and lanthanide complex supply undergo self-growth, and thus simultaneous self-strengthen in both mechanical performance and luminescence intensity are realized through bond rupture-initiated mechanoradical polymerization. This strategy proves the feasibility of imparting desired functions to the DN hydrogel by mechanical stamping, and provides a new strategy for the design of luminescent soft materials with high fatigue resistance.
Keywords: Double-network; Hydrogel; Lanthanide; Luminescence; Self-strengthen.
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