Repository logo

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
  1. Home
  2. Academic and Research Output
  3. Journal articles
  4. Valence can control the nonexponential viscoelastic relaxation of multivalent reversible gels
 
research article

Valence can control the nonexponential viscoelastic relaxation of multivalent reversible gels

Le Roy, Hugo Camille Valentin  
•
Song, Jake
•
Lundberg, David
Show more
May 15, 2024
Science Advances

Gels made of telechelic polymers connected by reversible cross-linkers are a versatile design platform for biocompatible viscoelastic materials. Their linear response to a step strain displays a fast, near-exponential relaxation when using low-valence cross-linkers, while larger supramolecular cross-linkers bring about much slower dynamics involving a wide distribution of timescales whose physical origin is still debated. Here, we propose a model where the relaxation of polymer gels in the dilute regime originates from elementary events in which the bonds connecting two neighboring cross-linkers all disconnect. Larger cross-linkers allow for a greater average number of bonds connecting them but also generate more heterogeneity. We characterize the resulting distribution of relaxation timescales analytically and accurately reproduce stress relaxation measurements on metal-coordinated hydrogels with a variety of cross-linker sizes including ions, metal-organic cages, and nanoparticles. Our approach is simple enough to be extended to any cross-linker size and could thus be harnessed for the rational design of complex viscoelastic materials.

  • Details
  • Metrics
Type
research article
DOI
10.1126/sciadv.adl5056
Web of Science ID

WOS:001223256500003

Author(s)
Le Roy, Hugo Camille Valentin  
Song, Jake
Lundberg, David
Zhukhovitskiy, Aleksandr V.
Johnson, Jeremiah A.
Mckinley, Gareth H.
Holten-Andersen, Niels
Lenz, Martin
Date Issued

2024-05-15

Publisher

Amer Assoc Advancement Science

Published in
Science Advances
Volume

10

Issue

20

Article Number

eadl5056

Subjects

Dynamics

•

Rheology

•

Mechanics

•

Polymers

•

Hydrogel

•

Shear

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LBS  
FunderGrant Number

Marie Curie Integration Grant

PCIG12-GA-2012-334053

The "Investissements d'Avenir" LabEx PALM

ANR-10-LABX-0039-PALM

ANR grants

ANR-15-CE13-0004-03

Show more
Available on Infoscience
June 19, 2024
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/208595
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Contact
  • infoscience@epfl.ch

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on X
  • Follow us on Youtube
AccessibilityLegal noticePrivacy policyCookie settingsEnd User AgreementGet helpFeedback

Infoscience is a service managed and provided by the Library and IT Services of EPFL. © EPFL, tous droits réservés