Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41706916›Full record

ArticleAdvanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)2026

Harnessing Chain Mobility via Protonation for Tough and Isotropic Hydrogel.

Pengju Shi, Muqing Si, Zishang Lin, Qian Mao, Sidi Duan, Zixiao Liu, Wen Hong, Mason Possinger, Yichen Yan, Chi Chen and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Pengju ShiDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Muqing SiDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Zishang LinDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Qian MaoDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA.
Sidi DuanDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Zixiao LiuDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Wen HongDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Mason PossingerDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Yichen YanDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Chi ChenDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-7466-7870
Ping HeDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Xiaobing ZuoX-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois, USA.
Hua ZhouX-Ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois, USA.
Adri van DuinDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, USA.
Ximin HeDepartment of Material Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8845-4637

Funding

Piezo-1 & 2’s role in murine intestinal muscularis cells of the SIP syncytiumR01DK132319 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI James C Dunn, MARTIN G MARTIN · 2023 to 2026
$2.9M
American Chemical Society 66747-ND7Johnson & Johnson 20231448Moore Foundation 12072NIH HHS R01DK132319Office of Naval Research (ONR) N000142212595Office of Naval Research (ONR) N000142412187Semiconductor Research Corporation 2023-JU3136
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Fabricating hydrogels with isotropically high tensile strength, stretchability, and toughness is crucial for applications in tissue engineering, stretchable bioelectronics and soft robots. However, many toughening strategies, including mechanical training, directional freezing, and solvent exchange, often induce anisotropy or fail to enhance all these metrics simultaneously. Herein, we report a strategy to fabricate ultra-tough, isotropic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels by synergistically modulating polymer chain mobility and physical crosslinking through sequential acidification, freeze-thawing, and salting-out. Acidification protonates the hydroxyl groups, suppressing premature interchain hydrogen bonding and promoting network homogenization. Subsequent salting-out deprotonates the hydroxyl groups to strengthen the interpolymer hydrogen bonds, forming crystalline domains that act as strong, reversible physical crosslinks. The resulting hydrogel achieves a high tensile strength of 29.5 MPa, stretchability of 2683%, and record-high toughness of 424 MJ m

Indexed as

acidificationhydrogen bondingpoly(vinyl alcohol)salting outtough hydrogel

Identifiers

PMID41706916
PMCPMC12994322

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.