Large Continuous Mechanical Gradient Formation via Metal–Ligand Interactions

Mechanical gradients are often employed in nature to prevent biological materials from damage by creating a smooth transition from strong to weak that dissipates large forces. Synthetic mimics of these natural structures are highly desired to improve distribution of stresses at interfaces and reduce...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie (International ed.) 2017-12, Vol.56 (49), p.15575-15579
Main Authors: Neal, James A., Oldenhuis, Nathan J., Novitsky, Andrea L., Samson, Emil M., Thrift, William J., Ragan, Regina, Guan, Zhibin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
bioinspired materials
Biological materials
Contact stresses
Crosslinking
Damage prevention
Deformation
gradient materials
Interfaces
Jaw
Ligands
Mechanical properties
metallopolymers
Metals
Metals - chemistry
Molecular Structure
Organometallic Compounds - chemical synthesis
Organometallic Compounds - chemistry
polymers
Polymers - chemistry
Spatial distribution
Stiffness
Stress concentration
Stress, Mechanical
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Mechanical gradients are often employed in nature to prevent biological materials from damage by creating a smooth transition from strong to weak that dissipates large forces. Synthetic mimics of these natural structures are highly desired to improve distribution of stresses at interfaces and reduce contact deformation in manmade materials. Current synthetic gradient materials commonly suffer from non‐continuous transitions, relatively small gradients in mechanical properties, and difficult syntheses. Inspired by the polychaete worm jaw, we report a novel approach to generate stiffness gradients in polymeric materials via incorporation of dynamic monodentate metal–ligand crosslinks. Through spatial control of metal ion content, we created a continuous mechanical gradient that spans over a 200‐fold difference in stiffness, approaching the mechanical contrast observed in biological gradient materials. A bioinspired mechanical gradient was created using monodentate metal–ligand interactions that results in a continuous gradient material spanning over a 200‐fold difference in stiffness. The material can be facilely prepared with a common syringe pump. Three metal ions were employed and XPS was used to monitor the metal concentration.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.201707587