Materials scientists develop road map for designing responsive gels with unusual properties

Phys.org  August 22, 2024 Metallo-polyelectrolytes are versatile materials for applications like filtration, biomedical devices, and sensors, due to their metal-organic synergy. Their dynamic and reversible electrostatic interactions offer high ionic conductivity, self-healing, and tunable mechanical properties. However, the knowledge gap between molecular-level dynamic bonds and continuum-level material properties persist, largely due to limited fabrication methods and a lack of theoretical design frameworks. To address this gap researchers at Caltech developed a framework, combining theoretical and experimental insights, highlighting the interplay of molecular parameters in governing material properties. Using stereolithography-based additive manufacturing, they produced durable metallo-polyelectrolytes gels with tunable mechanical properties […]