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Universal law of hierarchical dynamics in gels arising from confluence of local physically dynamic bonds

Author

Listed:
  • Yi Hui Zhao

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yu Sen Jie

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • You Cai Xue

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Zi Wei Shi

    (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Yuan Chen Dong

    (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
    Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Murugappan Muthukumar

    (Amherst)

  • Di Jia

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Abstract

Gels comprised of dynamic bonds are important candidates for the emerging ‘intelligent’ gels due to their unique characteristics. We report a universal law of hierarchical gel dynamics arising from association-dissociation of physical crosslinks, as discerned from dynamic light scattering (DLS) on diverse sets of complex gels. It is the first experimental evidence of a stretched exponential decay with a universal exponent 1/3 in DLS for all the physical gels, complementing more than five decades of DLS studies on conventional chemical gels. Here we show that diversely different chemistries of dynamic bonds map into the observed unifying law for large-scale collective dynamical properties of physical gels. This discovery allows identification of whether physical or chemical bonds dominate the crosslinks in complex gels, as well as extraction of local energetics of the constituent physical crosslinks by their characteristic relaxation times. It also elicits large-scale functional properties applicable in smart gels.

Suggested Citation

  • Yi Hui Zhao & Yu Sen Jie & You Cai Xue & Zi Wei Shi & Yuan Chen Dong & Murugappan Muthukumar & Di Jia, 2025. "Universal law of hierarchical dynamics in gels arising from confluence of local physically dynamic bonds," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58571-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58571-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pusey, P.N. & Van Megen, W., 1989. "Dynamic light scattering by non-ergodic media," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 157(2), pages 705-741.
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