Manipulating the Mechanical Response of Hydrophobically Cross-Linked Hydrogels with Ionic Associations

To prevent brittle failure, tough hydrogels rely on energy dissipation, which can be manifested through sacrificial covalent bonds or reversible, noncovalent cross-links. However, these noncovalent cross-links tend to lead to significant creep during deformation due to rearrangements of the effective cross-links. Here, the influence of ionic associations as a secondary network in noncovalently cross-linked hydrogels is examined using a...