Masking Strategy Constructed Metal Coordination Hydrogels with Improved Mechanical Properties for Flexible Electronic Sensors.

Metal coordination hydrogels (MC-HGs) that introduce dynamically coordinate bonds together with metal ionic conduction have attracted considerable attention in flexible electronics. However, the traditional method alleged to have technical scalability faces the challenge of forming MC-HGs with a "core-shell" structure, which undoubtedly reduces the whole mechanical properties and ionic stimulation responsiveness required for flexible electronics materials. Herein, a novel strategy referred to as "masking" has been proposed based on the theory of the valence bond and coordination chemistry.

Reversible transformation of peptide assembly between densified-polysarcosine-driven kinetically and helix-orientation-driven thermodynamically stable morphologies.

Stimuli-responsive transformable biomaterials development can be manipulated practically by fine-tuning the built-in molecular design of their structural segments. Here, we demonstrate a peptide assembly by the bola-type amphiphilic polypeptide, glycolic acid-polysarcosine (PSar)--(L-Leu-Aib)--PSar-glycolic acid (SLS), which shows morphological transformations between hydrophilic chain-driven and hydrophobic unit-driven morphologies. The hydrophobic α-helical unit (L-Leu-Aib) precisely controls packing in the hydrophobic layer of the assembly and induces tubule formation.