Abstract
Hydrogels are attractive materials with permeation and stimuli-responsiveness etc. But applications of hydrogels
are confined because of the lack of mechanical strength. The author’s research group recently developed a general
method to obtain very strong gels by introducing a double network (DN) structure. These high strength hydrogels,
containing 90% water, exhibit a high compressive capacity as high as decades of MPa and show a high wear resistance due to their extremely low friction as 10–4. The authors’ group also succeeded in making strong gels with biocom atibility by introducing natural polymers to double network structure.
These gels can be applied not only in medical use but also industrial devices. Smart gels with high mechanical strength are expected to contribute to the development of the field of membrane.
