Glassy ionogels with high compressibility and strength for impact protection
Jiayu Wang1, Shilong Zhang1, Lingling Li1, Xiaoliang Wang2, Jiaofeng Xiong1, Qingning Li1,Weizheng Li1, Feng Yan1,3（严锋）*
1Jiangsu Engineering Laboratory of Novel Functional Polymeric Materials, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Negative Carbon Technologies, Suzhou Key Laboratory of Soft Material and New Energy, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, China
2School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210000, China
3State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.,2025, 122, e2417978122
Abstract: Solvents within gels enhance the mobility of polymer chain segments while concurrently diminishing interchain interactions, thereby facilitating the ductility of glassy polymers at the cost of their mechanical strength. Here, we develop a solvent toughening strategy for the preparation of highly compressible and high-strength ionogels in the glassy state. This approach leverages the synergistic effects of the slow dissociation-shift kinetics of solvent ionic liquids and polymer crystallization. Ionogels exhibit an ultimate compressive stress of 2.3 GPa (at 98% compressive strain), toughness of 1219.3 MJ m−3, and energy dissipation rate of 81.9% (at 70% compression strain). The highly interacting ionic bondsofsolvent and the fast crystallization of polymers under load toughen the ionogels and confer impact hardening and efficient energy dissipation behavior under fast impact. A 500-μm-thick ionogel coating can protect fragile items, such as glass, from impact damage. Ionogels, renowned for their impact resistance, hold promise for various applications across industries including human body implants, equipment, transportation, and aerospace.
Article information: //doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2417978122
