Active Gross-Linkers that Lead to Active Gels

摘要

This communication describes the design, synthesis, and structure of the first ruthenium-complex-based hyper-cross-linker for creating a novel type of active gels as a chemo-mechanical soft material. Gels, which are soft materials composed of a three-dimensional (3D) network and a large amount of liquid, have found a wide range of applications, from biomedicine (for example, as a medium for tissue engineering) to consumer products (for example, hair gels). Cross-linking, physically or covalently, is the fundamental and necessary attribute to produce a 3D network in a gel. Unlike supramolecular gels, which are constructed through reversible, non-specific, and physical cross-linking, polymeric gels usually rely on bifunctional cross-linkers (for example, bisacrylamide that become inactive after the formation of the covalent cross-links during the polymerization.