Polyurethanes that could form hydrogel when contacted with water are of great interests for their plausible applications. It could be used as high-performance industrial materials and materials for medical treatment.

Figure 1. Polyurethane synthesized by Prof. Wan’s group (A); It forms emulsion when mixed with water (B); quickly forms hydrogel (C); which is self-supportive (D). (Image by Biomimetic and Biobased Polymer Group, QIBEBT)

Especially, polyurethane hydrogels with strong mechanical strength and high water-absorption ratio may find their applications in soil-water conservation and desertification combating. Although the application studies of such material were reported, its domestic manufacturing has not been realized yet. 

CAS key Laboratory of Bio-based Materials at Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology (QIBEBT) have successfully solved this problem. By carefully tuning the structure of polyols and the density of the cross-linkable functional groups, professor WAN Xiaobo and his colleagues in Biomimetic and Biobased Polymer Group found a way to unify the high water-absorption ratio (up to 40:1 volumn ratio) and high compressive strength (up to 1.5 MPa) in one material, as shown in Figure 1. 

Prof. Wan’s group is currently working on to further improve the water-absorption ability, mechanical strength, and storage period of this polyurethane hydrogel. This material may find its niche in industrial applications since it is derived from inexpensive commercially available materials.  

Contact: 
Prof. WAN Xiaobo
Email: wanxb (AT) qibebt.ac.cn  
Webpage: http://english.qibebt.cas.cn/rh/rs/bic/bbpm/