Bioinspired Mineralized Fibrous Network for High Stiffness and High Damping Hydrogel

ABSTRACT

The longstanding trade‐off between stiffness and energy dissipation has limited the engineering applications of hydrogels for impact protection and vibration damping. Here, we report a bioinspired mineralized fibrous network (MFN) architecture that can integrate these contradictory properties within a hydrated matrix. Inspired by the architecture of biological gels and bone, we construct an interconnected network composed of highly mineralized fiber bundles via polymerization of molecular‐scale inorganic ionic oligomers along organic nanofibers. Within the MFN, the interconnected network skeleton serves as a rigid framework that provides high load‐bearing capacity. Meanwhile, multi‐scale dissipation pathways, ranging from microscopic pull‐out and delamination of fiber bundles to molecular‐scale interfacial sliding mediated by confined water, enable efficient energy dissipation. Consequently, the resulting hydrogel exhibits a high modulus of 991.91 MPa and strength of 66.62 MPa, with a maximum energy dissipation efficiency of 91.6% and a damping factor of approximately 0.2. This provides an effective resolution to the stiffness‐damping conflict for hydrogels. Benefiting from this structure, the fabricated hydrogel exhibits superior shock absorption, impact resistance, and vibration damping in realistic applications. This work extends advanced structural design in natural biological materials to conventional soft matter systems, expanding current knowledge of bioinspired hybrid architectures for addressing mechanical trade‐offs.