Mucosa‐Inspired Electro‐Responsive Lubricating Supramolecular‐Covalent Hydrogel

Abstract

AbstractEnabling the living capability of secreting liquids dynamically triggered by external stimuli while maintaining the bulk frame is a significant challenge for mucosa‐inspired hydrogels. A mucosa‐inspired electro‐responsive hydrogel is developed in this study using the synergy between electro‐responsive silk fibroin supramolecular non‐covalent networks and covalent polyacrylamide and polyvinyl alcohol polymer networks. The formed supramolecular‐covalent hydrogel exhibits a partial gel‐sol transition upon the application of an electric field, and the liquid layer on the hydrogel surface near the cathode is used to mimic the mucus‐secreting capability to regulate lubrication. The electro‐responsive lubricating process can operate under a safe voltage and exhibits good reversibility. It is also a universal strategy to construct an electro‐responsive hydrogel by introducing an electro‐responsive supramolecular network into the polymer network. This mucosa‐inspired electro‐responsive supramolecular‐covalent hydrogel offers a promising method for designing soft actuators or robots that can regulate lubrication using an electric strategy.