Episode 11: Synthetic hydrogel combines stiffness and self-healing properties

In this podcast episode, MRS Bulletin’s Laura Leay interviews Hang Zhang from Aalto University in Finland about his group’s creation of a composite material that is both stiff and self-healing. The composite involves a hydrogel where the long polymer chains are confined between nanosheets of synthetic hectorite. This material mimics skin that is both stiff and self-healing. Applications may be forthcoming in self-healing soft robots or artificial tissues that can self-heal like synthetic skin. This work was published in a recent issue of Nature Materials.