{
  "abstract": "Hydrogels typically deteriorate in high salinity due to electrostatic screening and solvent-quality loss. Here, we report a double network hydrogel, composed of poly(AMPS)(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid) and zwitterionic AM-SBVI (acrylamide-sulfobetaine vinylimidazole) that strengthens while swelling in brine. Upon salt exposure, the network undergoes ion-triggered topological reconfiguration, the intrachain zwitterionic loops open and re-form as inter-network SBVI + -AMPS − bridges, which yields a higher effective bridge density v e , at lower polymer fraction(Φ). The hydrogel demonstrates a 3.4-fold increase in tensile strength and a 2.1-fold enhancement in equilibrium swelling ratio in 200 g/L NaCl compared to deionized water. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) confirm the ion-mediated decoupling of crosslinking domains and redistribution of charge density. Moreover, simulation calculation suggests a more strong interaction between SBVI and AMPS under high salinity water. Coreflooding experiment demonstrates robust injectability and flow-resistance characteristics under high salinity porous rock. A deep analysis concerts swelling/rheology into three descriptors, v ₑ, χ (Flory-Rehner inversion), and f loop (loop fraction from bridge capacity). We find that salt contents raise and depress f loop toward zero. This, the elastic cost term, F el increases but is compensated by F assoc (stabilization from loop to bridge), while F diss from Donnan partioning is small. F mix that related to χ shifts quite small indicated a strong interaction between the hydrogel with brine. This quantitative mechanism explains the simultaneous gains in swelling and modulus and provides rational design rules to engineer salt-adaptive hydrogels for subsurface and biointerfaces.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, China",
    "College of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University Science and Technology, Qingdao, China. chenghaoran@qust.edu.cn",
    "School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA",
    "School of Petroleum Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao, China. liyuanzhang@upc.edu.cn"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lingling Ren"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Guoxuan Ma",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-2479-7800"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Zheng Wang"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shuang Liu",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-5976-4792"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Haoran Cheng",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4284-9235"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "David A. Weitz",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6678-5208"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Liyuan Zhang",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8355-900X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bzb78b4he8qt1.bib",
  "cited_by": 9,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41467-026-73723-8",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "bzb78b4he8qt1",
  "issns": [
    "2041-1723"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73723-8",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1313|Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2502|Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7162449107",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-73723-8_reference.pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC13219459",
  "pmid": "42191704",
  "published": "2026-05-26",
  "publisher": "Nature Portfolio",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bzb78b4he8qt1.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:48Z",
      "native_id": "W7162449107",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-73723-8"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:2502|Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications",
      "subfield": "materials-polymers"
    },
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:1313|Hydrogels: synthesis, properties, applications",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Ion-triggered reconfigurable hydrogels with salt-enhanced mechanical and swelling properties via network topological adaptation",
  "title_text": "Ion-triggered reconfigurable hydrogels with salt-enhanced mechanical and swelling properties via network topological adaptation",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T13:20:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bzb78b4he8qt1",
  "venue": "Nature Communications",
  "versions": []
}