Environmentally Responsive Hydrogels and Composites Containing Hydrogels as Water-Based Lubricants
Both biosystems and engineering fields demand advanced friction-reducing and lubricating materials. Due to their hydrophilicity and tissue-mimicking properties, hydrogels are ideal candidates for use as lubricants in water-based environments. They are particularly well-suited for applications involv...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Gels |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/7/526 |
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| author | Song Chen Zumin Wu Lei Wei Xiuqin Bai Chengqing Yuan Zhiwei Guo Ying Yang |
| author_facet | Song Chen Zumin Wu Lei Wei Xiuqin Bai Chengqing Yuan Zhiwei Guo Ying Yang |
| author_sort | Song Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Both biosystems and engineering fields demand advanced friction-reducing and lubricating materials. Due to their hydrophilicity and tissue-mimicking properties, hydrogels are ideal candidates for use as lubricants in water-based environments. They are particularly well-suited for applications involving biocompatibility or interactions with intelligent devices such as soft robots. However, external environments, whether within the human body or in engineering applications, often present a wide range of dynamic conditions, including variations in shear stress, temperature, light, pH, and electric fields. Additionally, hydrogels inherently possess low mechanical strength, and their dimensional stability can be compromised by changes during hydration. This review focuses on recent advancements in using environmentally responsive hydrogels as lubricants. It explores strategies involving physical or structural modifications, as well as the incorporation of smart chemical functional groups into hydrogel polymer chains, which enable diverse responsive mechanisms. Drawing on both the existing literature and our own research, we also examine how composite friction materials where hydrogels serve as water-based lubricants offer promising solutions for demanding engineering environments, such as bearing systems in marine vessels. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bffc7f2368464c6f900efce74833dbdb |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2310-2861 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Gels |
| spelling | doaj-art-bffc7f2368464c6f900efce74833dbdb2025-08-20T02:45:38ZengMDPI AGGels2310-28612025-07-0111752610.3390/gels11070526Environmentally Responsive Hydrogels and Composites Containing Hydrogels as Water-Based LubricantsSong Chen0Zumin Wu1Lei Wei2Xiuqin Bai3Chengqing Yuan4Zhiwei Guo5Ying Yang6College of Mechanical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Maritime Technology and Safety, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430063, ChinaCollege of Mechanical Engineering, Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, Yueyang 414006, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Maritime Technology and Safety, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430063, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Maritime Technology and Safety, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430063, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Maritime Technology and Safety, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430063, ChinaSchool of Life Science, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 7QB, UKBoth biosystems and engineering fields demand advanced friction-reducing and lubricating materials. Due to their hydrophilicity and tissue-mimicking properties, hydrogels are ideal candidates for use as lubricants in water-based environments. They are particularly well-suited for applications involving biocompatibility or interactions with intelligent devices such as soft robots. However, external environments, whether within the human body or in engineering applications, often present a wide range of dynamic conditions, including variations in shear stress, temperature, light, pH, and electric fields. Additionally, hydrogels inherently possess low mechanical strength, and their dimensional stability can be compromised by changes during hydration. This review focuses on recent advancements in using environmentally responsive hydrogels as lubricants. It explores strategies involving physical or structural modifications, as well as the incorporation of smart chemical functional groups into hydrogel polymer chains, which enable diverse responsive mechanisms. Drawing on both the existing literature and our own research, we also examine how composite friction materials where hydrogels serve as water-based lubricants offer promising solutions for demanding engineering environments, such as bearing systems in marine vessels.https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/7/526lubricationwater-based hydrogelsenvironmentally responsivecompositefriction pair |
| spellingShingle | Song Chen Zumin Wu Lei Wei Xiuqin Bai Chengqing Yuan Zhiwei Guo Ying Yang Environmentally Responsive Hydrogels and Composites Containing Hydrogels as Water-Based Lubricants Gels lubrication water-based hydrogels environmentally responsive composite friction pair |
| title | Environmentally Responsive Hydrogels and Composites Containing Hydrogels as Water-Based Lubricants |
| title_full | Environmentally Responsive Hydrogels and Composites Containing Hydrogels as Water-Based Lubricants |
| title_fullStr | Environmentally Responsive Hydrogels and Composites Containing Hydrogels as Water-Based Lubricants |
| title_full_unstemmed | Environmentally Responsive Hydrogels and Composites Containing Hydrogels as Water-Based Lubricants |
| title_short | Environmentally Responsive Hydrogels and Composites Containing Hydrogels as Water-Based Lubricants |
| title_sort | environmentally responsive hydrogels and composites containing hydrogels as water based lubricants |
| topic | lubrication water-based hydrogels environmentally responsive composite friction pair |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2310-2861/11/7/526 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT songchen environmentallyresponsivehydrogelsandcompositescontaininghydrogelsaswaterbasedlubricants AT zuminwu environmentallyresponsivehydrogelsandcompositescontaininghydrogelsaswaterbasedlubricants AT leiwei environmentallyresponsivehydrogelsandcompositescontaininghydrogelsaswaterbasedlubricants AT xiuqinbai environmentallyresponsivehydrogelsandcompositescontaininghydrogelsaswaterbasedlubricants AT chengqingyuan environmentallyresponsivehydrogelsandcompositescontaininghydrogelsaswaterbasedlubricants AT zhiweiguo environmentallyresponsivehydrogelsandcompositescontaininghydrogelsaswaterbasedlubricants AT yingyang environmentallyresponsivehydrogelsandcompositescontaininghydrogelsaswaterbasedlubricants |