Unraveling the gallol-driven assembly mechanism of thermoreversible supramolecular hydrogels inspired by ascidians

WOLFEL, ALEXIS; EUTI, ESTEBAN M.; PICCHIO, MATÍAS L.; ROMERO, MARCELO R.; GALVÁN JOSA, VICTOR M.; MARTINELLI, MARISA; MINARI, ROQUE J.; ALVAREZ IGARZABAL, CECILIA I.

Polymer Chemistry

The Royal Society of Chemistry

Año: 2020

1759-9954

olyphenols-based supramolecular hydrogels have recently attracted much attention as smart materials for applications in several technologies. Although great advances have been made in this field, there is a challenging need for creating new versatile materials that combine synthesis simplicity and suitable functional properties. In this work, inspired by the hydrogen bonding ability of pyrogallol-bearing proteins found in ascidians, we explored a small gallol analog, gallic acid (GA), as a dynamic crosslinker of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The fundamentals of the supramolecular assembly mechanism of PVA/GA hydrogels are studied for understanding the final properties of the obtained thermo-reversible hydrogels. The polymer deacetylation degree was a key factor to control the gelation kinetics, morphology, and properties of the supramolecular materials. Furthermore, the intercalation of GA molecules between PVA chains produced polymer crystals with a new spatial arrangement, modifying t