Programmed Degradation of Hydrogels with a Double‐Locked Domain

The ability to control the degradation of a material is critical to various applications. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate a concept of controlling degradation by using a double‐locked domain (DLD). DLD is a molecular structure with two functional units that work cooperatively under environmental stimulation. One unit is triggered to transform without cleavage in the presence of the first stimulus, but this transformation enables the activation of the other unit for cleavage in the presence of the second stimulus. The results show that DLD is activated to transform through intramolecular reconfiguration when exposed to light. After this transformation, light‐triggered DLD can undergo rapid cleavage under acid treatment. When DLD is used as the crosslinkers of hydrogels, hydrogels undergo rapid degradation after sequentially exposed to light irradiation and acid treatment. Reversing the order of light irradiation and acid treatment or only using individual stimulation does not lead to comparable degradation. Thus, this study has successfully demonstrated a great potential of using DLD to achieve programmable degradation of materials.

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