Advanced Functional Polymers: Properties and Supramolecular Phenomena in Hydrogels and Polyrotaxane-based Materials

The dissipation of energy via supramolecular bonds is the key to the toughness and strength of nature materials. Inspired from nature, there have been intensive efforts to develop polymeric soft yet tough, functional, and viscoelastic materials utilizing supramolecular chemistry. Supramolecular materials are, in most instances, mechanically too weak and an increase in dissipative mechanism in such materials may improve toughness and fracture resistance. Novel advanced functional polymers have thus been developed by exploiting supramolecular bonds to achieve desirable properties. In this review, supramolecular phenomenon in functional hydrogels of many different kinds and polyrotaxane-based materials have been analyzed and correlated with the mechanical properties to develop advanced functional polymers. Recent advances in the development of such materials have been highlighted with the aim of broadening the concept of supramolecular bonds to exploit them as tough materials for biomedical applications.