Chemists develop unique design for tough but stretchable gels

Chenfeng Ke, an incoming associate professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, developed a unique design for tough but stretchable hydrogels, reported Aug. 23 in the journal Chem. The new material is both flexible and durable thanks to a ring-shaped sugar molecule that encases its polymer network and allows it to stretch without sacrificing strength.