Home Products Cited in Publications Worldwide Dual‐Wavelength Responsive Hydrogel Glue with Visible‐Light Bonding and UV‐Triggered Debonding via Ortho‐Nitrobenzyl Cleavage
Wang, Huaming; Shen, Xianyan; Du, Changling; Liu, Xian‐You; Yang, Anyu; Cao, Yanni; Han, Aijie; Liu, Qihan; Laaser, Jennifer; Zhang, Wei
DOI:10.1002/advs.202507809 PMID:40755361
Removable adhesives with controllable bonding and debonding capabilities are essential for biomedical devices, temporary fixation, and recyclable materials. Here, a dual-wavelength hydrogel glue is presented that integrates visible-light polymerization (470 nm) for strong adhesion and UV-induced degradation (365 nm) for rapid debonding. The system leverages camphorquinone as a visible-light photoinitiator and ortho-nitrobenzyl poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (ONB-PEGDMA) as a UV-cleavable crosslinker, ensuring independent control over adhesion and detachment with orthogonal polymerization and degradation. The degradation rate of ONB-PEGDMA increases proportionally with light intensity, providing precise control over cleavage kinetics, with first-order rate constants of 0.155, 0.278, and 0.669 min−1 for 20, 50, and 100 mW cm−2, respectively. The hydrogel exhibits strong adhesion (≈200 kPa) and undergoes a fourfold reduction in adhesion strength within 90 s of 365 nm irradiation at 100 mW cm−2 under a constant tensile load of 10 N, enabling efficient removal. Rheological analysis confirms a significant decrease in storage modulus and crosslinking density after UV exposure, leading to network softening and structural failure. This work pioneers a phototunable hydrogel glue that bridges photopolymerization and photodegradation, offering a promising platform for next-generation adhesives with precise spatiotemporal control and with easy application, good bonding, and rapid UV-triggered debonding.
decrosslinking ; hydrogel ; ortho-nitrobenzyl ; photo-responsive ; removable glue

