A POSS based hydrogel with mechanical robustness, cohesiveness and a rapid self-healing ability by electrostatic interaction.

A molecularly dispersed nano-material called POSS-NH-AA was synthesized to construct a hybrid hydrogel with a rapid self-healing ability (stress 8 kPa) and excellent mechanical performance (a strain of 4683% and a stress of 37.8 kPa). The hydrogel also exhibits good cohesiveness to materials, such as plastics, glass and iron. The backbone of the POSS makes the hydrogel much stronger than the hydrogel without POSS, which accounts for the improvement in its properties. This process is facile and useful to construct mechanically strong and self-healable materials.