"Super Jelly" will not die even if it is run over by a car

Researchers have developed a gel-like material that can withstand the strength of an elephant standing on it and fully restore its original shape, even though 80% of it is water

This soft and strong material was developed by a team at the University of Cambridge.

The non-aqueous part of the material is a polymer network connected by reversible on/off interactions that control the mechanical properties of the material

This "super jelly" can be used in a wide range of potential applications, including soft robotics, bioelectronics, and even as a cartilage substitute for biomedical purposes

The way materials behave—whether they are soft or hard, brittle or strong—depends on their molecular structure

"In order to make a material with the mechanical properties we want, we used a crosslinking agent, that is, two molecules are linked together by a chemical bond," said Huang Zehuan of the Yusuf Hamid Department of Chemistry, the first author of the study.

In the laboratory of Professor Oren Scherman, who led the research, the team used a barrel-shaped molecule called a gourd to create a hydrogel that can withstand compression

"When the water content reaches 80%, you might think it will break like a water polo, but it is not the case: it can stay intact and withstand tremendous pressure," said Sherman, a Melville University polymer The director of the synthesis laboratory

"The compression resistance of hydrogels is amazing, which is different from anything we see in hydrogels," said co-author Dr.

In order to make a glass-like hydrogel, the research team chose specific guest molecules as handcuffs

"People have spent years making rubber-like hydrogels, but this is only half of the process," Scherman said

The researchers used this material to make a hydrogel pressure sensor for real-time monitoring of human movements, including standing, walking and jumping

"As far as we know, this is the first time that a glass-like hydrogel has been manufactured