A facile method to fabricate high performance PVA/PAA-AS hydrogel via the synergy of multiple hydrogen bonding and Hofmeister effect.

Hydrogels are widely used in biomedical engineering, which often require matched mechanical properties to meet specific demands. Recently, numerous research studies have contributed to tissue engineering hydrogels by soaking strategies to obtain designed properties. Herein, a strategy to fabricate poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(acrylic acid)-ammonium sulfate (PVA/PAA-AS) hydrogel by successively soaking an aqueous PAA solution and (NH4)2SO4 solution based on the synergy of multiple hydrogen bonding and Hofmeister effect is reported, which exhibits remarkable comprehensive mechanical properties: rigidity (elastic modulus: 0.7-3.6