The material looks and feels like a jelly, with a 'squishy' texture, but when compressed it acts like an ultra-hard, shatterproof glass. Never before has such resistance to compression been incorporated into a soft material. This is even more remarkable considering that it is mostly composed of water.
The 'super jelly' could be used for a range of potential applications, including soft robotics, bioelectronics, or even as a cartilage replacement for biomedical use.
The behaviour of materials is dependent on their molecular structure. Stretchy, rubber-like hydrogels have many useful properties (such as toughness, flexibility, and self-healing capabilities) that make them a popular research subject, particularly as a potential material for surgical applications. However, making hydrogels that can withstand compression without being crushed is a challenge.
The 'super jelly' is 80 per cent water. The rest of the material is a network of polymers...