Environmentally Stable Polymer Gels with Super Deformability and High Recoverability Enhanced by Sub-5 nm Particles in the Nonvolatile Solvent

It remains challenging to satisfy the combined performances for hydrogels with excellent mechanical behavior, high deformability, and super recoverability under harsh environmental conditions. In this study, we first established a strong polymer network via the crosslinking of polymer chains on the surfaces of sub-5-nm calcium hydroxide nanospherulites in ethylene glycol solvent. The organic gel expressed excellent mechanical properties such as a recoverable compressive engineering stress of 249 MPa and an elongation stress of 402 KPa, which was attributed to the uniform nanosized crosslinking structure as characterized by SEM. Moreover, the nonvolatile solvent remained in the gel, meaning that the sample can resist a wide temperature range of −56 to 100 °C without losing the elastic properties. This novel organic gel could provide promising routes to develop the ideal elastic carriers for wearable devices, smart skin sensors, and damping materials.