Internal Damage Evolution in Double-Network Hydrogels Studied by Microelectrode Technique

Double-network (DN) hydrogels have attracted considerable attention owing to their unique mechanism to show extraordinary mechanical strength and toughness. Although the toughening mechanism of the DN gels, breaking of the relatively stiff and brittle first network as sacrificial bonds, is widely accepted, the microstructure and morphology evolution of the internal damage have hardly been revealed. In this study, we study the internal structures...