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<p>Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels are promising materials for soft robotics, biomimetic devices and wearable sensors, yet their practical applications are often hindered by low tensile strength and insufficient surface friction. Herein, a high-friction and tough PVA/polyisobutylene (PIB) hydrogel was successfully fabricated via a one-pot method combined with a solvent exchange strategy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry were employed to characterize the chemical interactions and crystalline behaviors of the hydrogels, while the water content, swelling ratio, microcosmic observation, tensile strength and tribological performance were tested to investigate the combination properties of hydrogels. The results revealed that glycerol was optimal for enhancing mechanical properties by promoting PVA crystallization and forming a dense network. The incorporation of PIB serving as a filler significantly improved the friction coefficient while maintaining adequate tensile strength. The PVA/PIB hydrogel with a PVA/PIB mass ratio of 17:3 exhibited the balanced performance, with a tensile strength of 1.5&#xa0;MPa, an elongation at break of 545%, a high friction coefficient of 0.83 (which was higher than that of other hydrogels, up to 0.1191) and a low specific wear rate of 7.27 10<sup>–4</sup> mm<sup>3</sup>/Nm. Mechanistic studies indicated that the increase of friction resulted from the synergistic effects of PIB film formation, obstruction of water spillage under compression and the optimal material strength.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>

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Balancing toughness and high friction in Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Polyisobutylene hydrogels through solvent-exchange-induced network engineering

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月29日

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  • Zhuoxi Yan,
  • Jixiang Zhang,
  • Han Zhang,
  • Keyu Zhou,
  • Jingjing Zhang

摘要

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels are promising materials for soft robotics, biomimetic devices and wearable sensors, yet their practical applications are often hindered by low tensile strength and insufficient surface friction. Herein, a high-friction and tough PVA/polyisobutylene (PIB) hydrogel was successfully fabricated via a one-pot method combined with a solvent exchange strategy. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry were employed to characterize the chemical interactions and crystalline behaviors of the hydrogels, while the water content, swelling ratio, microcosmic observation, tensile strength and tribological performance were tested to investigate the combination properties of hydrogels. The results revealed that glycerol was optimal for enhancing mechanical properties by promoting PVA crystallization and forming a dense network. The incorporation of PIB serving as a filler significantly improved the friction coefficient while maintaining adequate tensile strength. The PVA/PIB hydrogel with a PVA/PIB mass ratio of 17:3 exhibited the balanced performance, with a tensile strength of 1.5 MPa, an elongation at break of 545%, a high friction coefficient of 0.83 (which was higher than that of other hydrogels, up to 0.1191) and a low specific wear rate of 7.27 10–4 mm3/Nm. Mechanistic studies indicated that the increase of friction resulted from the synergistic effects of PIB film formation, obstruction of water spillage under compression and the optimal material strength.

Graphical abstract