Advances in the Fabrication of Hydrogels with Well-defined Structure and High Mechanical Strength

Artificial hydrogels generally do not have well-defined structures,i.e.,the random distribution of crosslinking points and chain length,which leads to their weak mechanical strength,low swelling rate and irreversible swelling,and hence strongly impede their biomedical and industrial applications.However,biological hydrogels usually have well-defined structures and excellent performances.Therefore,the fabrication of hydrogels with well-defined structures has become a hot and challenging research topic in recent years.Here we review the recent developments in the fabrication of hydrogels with ordered structure and high mechanical strength.