Thin-film polymers and hydrogels show great potential for applications in biomedical and engineering fields. However, owing to their defect sensitivity and weak behavior at micrometer-scale thicknesses, the recently developed thin-film hydrogels have limitations in their mechanical properties that impede their use in actual applications. To overcome these drawbacks, we adopted the hydrophobic–hydrophilic copolymer strategy for fabricating thin-film hydrogels with good mechanical properties using a novel benzene-based bulky hydrophobic monomer. Strong hydrophobic associations and benzene–benzene​ interactions of the hydrophobic-rich hard-phase regions of the copolymer gel imparted high stiffness and strength, and the concomitantly formed hydrophilic-rich soft-phase regions were sacrificed reversibly to achieve high stretchability and toughness. The resulting hydrogel, with a thickness of $550\mathrm{\mu }\mathrm{m}$ and $\sim$52 wt% water content, exhibits an excellent Young’s modulus (18.03 ± 5.92 MPa), tensile strength (4.3 ± 0.21 MPa), and work of extension (11.85 ± 2.17 MJ/m³). Moreover, our hydrogels show biocompatibility and high stability in different media such as water, seawater, and acidic and physiological solutions. These properties further strengthen their potential for applications in biomedical and engineering fields.

薄膜聚合物和水凝胶在生物医学和工程领域显示出巨大的潜力。但是，由于其缺陷敏感性和在微米级厚度下的较弱行为，最近开发的薄膜水凝胶的机械性能受到限制，阻碍了其在实际应用中的使用。为了克服这些缺点，我们采用了疏水-亲水共聚物策略，使用新型的苯基大体积疏水性单体来制备具有良好机械性能的薄膜水凝胶。共聚物凝胶的富疏水性硬相区域具有很强的疏水性和苯-苯相互作用，因此具有很高的刚度和强度，可逆地牺牲了随之形成的富亲水性软相区域，以实现高拉伸性和韧性。$550\mathrm{\mu }\mathrm{米}$ 和 $〜$水分含量为52 wt％，表现出极好的杨氏模量（18.03±5.92 MPa），拉伸强度（4.3±0.21 MPa）和延伸功（11.85±2.17 MJ / m ³）。此外，我们的水凝胶在不同的介质（例如水，海水以及酸性和生理溶液）中显示出生物相容性和高稳定性。这些特性进一步增强了它们在生物医学和工程领域中的应用潜力。