Hydrogels: Multifunctional “Hydrogel Skins” on Diverse Polymers with Arbitrary Shapes (Adv. Mater. 7/2019)

Abstract

In article number 1807101, Xuanhe Zhao and co-workers report multifunctional hydrogel skins by interpenetrating hydrophilic polymers into the surfaces of diverse polymers with arbitrary shapes to provide soft, low-friction, hydrophilic, antifouling, and ionically conductive surfaces. This new strategy not only addresses challenges for existing methods but also enables unprecedented applications including hydrogel-coated complex medical devices and soft robots on large scales.