Multiple Length Scales Research Articles

Synergy in bio-inspired hybrid composites with hierarchically structured fibrous reinforcements

In response to the global energy crisis, high-performance transportation sectors are rapidly embracing lightweight materials to enhance energy efficiency and sustainability, while grappling with the persistent challenges of developing structural materials that meet stringent safety standards with robust mechanical performance and ease of scalability. Thus, this work presents a combined experimental and theoretical framework to develop a profound understanding of the synergistic effect in hybrid composites with bio-inspired fibrous reinforcements, by elucidating the interfacial interactions across multiple length-scales, encompassing atomic covalent bonding to micro-morphology. A model hybrid composite system, containing a self-assembled fibrous reinforcement consisting of nano-sized Graphene Nanoplatelets (GnP) covalently bonded onto chemically-modified micro-sized Glass Fibers (GF), was utilized to showcase the synergistic effect and highlight its associated mechanisms. The interfacial interactions of the reinforcement were optimized by obtaining the maximum density of covalent bonds, which was achieved with 0.5 wt% GnP for the hybrid composites containing 10 wt% GF, increasing the work of adhesion by 33 %, compared to the biphasic GF composites. The composite’s morphology contains minimal agglomeration with ∼68 % of GnPs oriented with the melt flow, supressing high-stress concentration areas, while the formed crystalline microstructure, with ∼18 % β-crystals, allows the matrix to absorb substantial energy. Furthermore, the increased trans-crystallization encapsulating the hierarchical reinforcement induced nanoscale stiffness variations, increasing rigidity, and forming an ∼16 µm gradient interphase that facilitates load transfer. The greatest synergistic effect observed was ∼54 %, ∼37 %, and ∼75 % for the tensile modulus, tensile strength, and impact strength, respectively. Additionally, a theoretical framework accounting for the synergistic effect was formulated, using a two-step core/shell homogenization model, which shows great potential in expediting the design and optimization of innovative hybrid composite materials.

Rok from B. subtilis: Bridging genome structure and transcription regulation.

Bacterial genomes are folded and organized into compact yet dynamic structures, called nucleoids. Nucleoid orchestration involves many factors at multiple length scales, such as nucleoid-associated proteins and liquid-liquid phase separation, and has to be compatible with replication and transcription. Possibly, genome organization plays an intrinsic role in transcription regulation, in addition to classical transcription factors. In this review, we provide arguments supporting this view using the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis as a model. Proteins BsSMC, HBsu and Rok all impact the structure of the B. subtilis chromosome. Particularly for Rok, there is compelling evidence that it combines its structural function with a role as global gene regulator. Many studies describe either function of Rok, but rarely both are addressed at the same time. Here, we review both sides of the coin and integrate them into one model. Rok forms unusually stable DNA-DNA bridges and this ability likely underlies its repressive effect on transcription by either preventing RNA polymerase from binding to DNA or trapping it inside DNA loops. Partner proteins are needed to change or relieve Rok-mediated gene repression. Lastly, we investigate which features characterize H-NS-like proteins, a family that, at present, lacks a clear definition.

A multi-scale modeling of Ca-based material for solar-driven calcium-looping energy storage process: From calcination reactor to energy carrier

The calcium looping (CaL) for thermochemical energy storage possesses a great potential to promote solar thermal utilization. However, the performance of CaL, especially for the Ca-based energy carrier, cannot satisfy the expectations of industrial application, requiring enhancement between multiple length scales. Hence, a model for solar-driven CaL energy storage process, coupled by three-dimensional reactor, two-dimensional light field and one-dimensional particle models, is proposed to study the multiprocess behavior on particle flow, photothermal conversion, calcination reaction, heat-mass transfer and stress response. It is found that moving-bed reactor contributes to achieving continuous calcination and reducing particle waste, while the rapid bouncing particles inhibit the performance of single particle, with up to 45.7 % reduction in conversion. Additionally, energy carrier with stable and continuous flow normally yields high energy storage efficiency and cycle stability when the conversion of outlet particle is closed to 1 and thermal stress is less than 50 MPa.

Data-driven simulations for training AI-based segmentation of neutron images

Neutron interferometry uniquely combines neutron imaging and scattering methods to enable characterization of multiple length scales from 1 nm to 10 µm. However, building, operating, and using such neutron imaging instruments poses constraints on the acquisition time and on the number of measured images per sample. Experiment time-constraints yield small quantities of measured images that are insufficient for automating image analyses using supervised artificial intelligence (AI) models. One approach alleviates this problem by supplementing annotated measured images with synthetic images. To this end, we create a data-driven simulation framework that supplements training data beyond typical data-driven augmentations by leveraging statistical intensity models, such as the Johnson family of probability density functions (PDFs). We follow the simulation framework steps for an image segmentation task including Estimate PDFs →\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\,\\rightarrow \\,$$\\end{document} Validate PDFs →\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\,\\rightarrow \\,$$\\end{document} Design Image Masks →\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\,\\rightarrow \\,$$\\end{document} Generate Intensities →\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\,\\rightarrow \\,$$\\end{document} Train AI Model for Segmentation. Our goal is to minimize the manual labor needed to execute the steps and maximize our confidence in simulations and segmentation accuracy. We report results for a set of nine known materials (calibration phantoms) that were imaged using a neutron interferometer acquiring four-dimensional images and segmented by AI models trained with synthetic and measured images and their masks.

Morphological entropy encodes cellular migration strategies on multiple length scales

Cell migration is crucial for numerous physiological and pathological processes. A cell adapts its morphology, including the overall and nuclear morphology, in response to various cues in complex microenvironments, such as topotaxis and chemotaxis during migration. Thus, the dynamics of cellular morphology can encode migration strategies, from which diverse migration mechanisms can be inferred. However, deciphering the mechanisms behind cell migration encoded in morphology dynamics remains a challenging problem. Here, we present a powerful universal metric, the Cell Morphological Entropy (CME), developed by combining parametric morphological analysis with Shannon entropy. The utility of CME, which accurately quantifies the complex cellular morphology at multiple length scales through the deviation from a perfectly circular shape, is illustrated using a variety of normal and tumor cell lines in different in vitro microenvironments. Our results show how geometric constraints affect the MDA-MB-231 cell nucleus, the emerging interactions of MCF-10A cells migrating on collagen gel, and the critical transition from proliferation to invasion in tumor spheroids. The analysis demonstrates that the CME-based approach provides an effective and physically interpretable tool to measure morphology in real-time across multiple length scales. It provides deeper insight into cell migration and contributes to the understanding of different behavioral modes and collective cell motility in more complex microenvironments.

Torsional force microscopy of van der Waals moirés and atomic lattices

In a stack of atomically thin van der Waals layers, introducing interlayer twist creates a moiré superlattice whose period is a function of twist angle. Changes in that twist angle of even hundredths of a degree can dramatically transform the system's electronic properties. Setting a precise and uniform twist angle for a stack remains difficult; hence, determining that twist angle and mapping its spatial variation is very important. Techniques have emerged to do this by imaging the moiré, but most of these require sophisticated infrastructure, time-consuming sample preparation beyond stack synthesis, or both. In this work, we show that torsional force microscopy (TFM), a scanning probe technique sensitive to dynamic friction, can reveal surface and shallow subsurface structure of van der Waals stacks on multiple length scales: the moirés formed between bi-layers of graphene and between graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) and also the atomic crystal lattices of graphene and hBN. In TFM, torsional motion of an Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) cantilever is monitored as it is actively driven at a torsional resonance while a feedback loop maintains contact at a set force with the sample surface. TFM works at room temperature in air, with no need for an electrical bias between the tip and the sample, making it applicable to a wide array of samples. It should enable determination of precise structural information including twist angles and strain in moiré superlattices and crystallographic orientation of van der Waals flakes to support predictable moiré heterostructure fabrication.

Local strain quantification of a porous carbon fiber network material

While porous materials’ wide range of attractive functional properties have led to their development for a variety of applications, their intrinsically stochastic microstructures prevent straightforward approaches to predicting their mechanical behavior. This is attributed to the mechanisms that govern the macroscale behavior of these materials operating on multiple microstructure-specific length scales spanning several orders of magnitude. The goal of this work was to experimentally observe these operative deformation mechanisms to better improve the development of mechanism-informed models that more accurately predict the behavior of these materials. In this study compression tests were conducted on a porous carbon fiber network material. The resulting macroscale mechanical properties and mesoscale deformation behavior were tied together through digital image correlation (DIC) strain mapping. It was shown that deformation accumulation occurred via both reversible (fiber bending and sliding) and irreversible (fiber and junction failure) ways. The presence of irreversible deformation is indicated by strain being retained after unloading, with values of up to 0.426 locally and 0.248 globally. Local and macroscopic recovery of up to 0.306 and 0.207 strain respectively showcase the operation of reversible deformation. Furthermore, the calculation of energy loss coefficients increasing from 0.016 to 0.371 illustrates that the deformation occurs via dissipative mechanisms.

Connecting continuum poroelasticity with discrete synthetic vascular trees for modelling liver tissue

The modelling of liver tissue across multiple length scales constitutes a significant challenge, primarily due to the multiphysics coupling of mechanical response and perfusion within the complex multiscale vascularization of the organ. In this paper, we present a modelling framework that connects continuum poroelasticity and discrete vascular tree structures to model liver tissue across disparate levels of the perfusion hierarchy. The connection is achieved through a series of modelling decisions, which include source terms in the pressure equation to model inflow from the supplying tree, pressure boundary conditions to model outflow into the draining tree, and contact conditions to model surrounding tissue. We investigate the numerical behaviour of our framework and apply it to a patient-specific full-scale liver problem that demonstrates its potential to help assess surgical liver resection procedures.

From Molecular Constraints to Macroscopic Dynamics in Associative Networks Formed by Ionizable Polymers: A Neutron Spin Echo and Molecular Dynamics Simulations Study.

The association of ionizable polymers strongly affects their motion in solutions, where the constraints arising from clustering of the ionizable groups alter the macroscopic dynamics. The interrelation between the motion on multiple length and time scales is fundamental to a broad range of complex fluids including physical networks, gels, and polymer-nanoparticle complexes where long-lived associations control their structure and dynamics. Using neutron spin echo and fully atomistic, multimillion atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations carried out to times comparable to that of chain segmental motion, the current study resolves the dynamics of networks formed by suflonated polystryene solutions for sulfonation fractions 0 ≤ f ≤ 0.09 across time and length scales. The experimental dynamic structure factors were measured and compared with computational ones, calculated from MD simulations, and analyzed in terms of a sum of two exponential functions, providing two distinctive time scales. These time constants capture confined motion of the network and fast dynamics of the highly solvated segments. A unique relationship between the polymer dynamics and the size and distribution of the ionic clusters was established and correlated with the number of polymer chains that participate in each cluster. The correlation of dynamics in associative complex fluids across time and length scales, enabled by combining the understanding attained from reciprocal space through neutron spin echo and real space, through large scale MD studies, addresses a fundamental long-standing challenge that underline the behavior of soft materials and affect their potential uses.

Deposition voltages on the phase evolutions, microstructures, and oxidation behaviors of thermal-resistance Glass-MoSi2-SiC coating

ABSTRACT Due to the high oxidation activities at high temperatures, traditional SiC coating was difficult to act as an antioxidant material for ages. In this case, the multilayered Glass-MoSi2-SiC coating was fabricated on the C/C substrate, combined with hydrothermal electrophoresis deposition and simple embedding process. It was found that the composite obtained at 10 V performed outstanding combinations of oxidation resistance and thermal shock resistance properties. The weight loss of this Glass-MoSi2-SiC-C/C composite was only 0.99% after 212 h oxidation at 1773 K. After thermal shock for 130 times, the mass was just 0.05% lower than that of the initial. These excellent heat-resistant performances were much better than those in similar reports, which was attributed to the suitable coating composition and dense interlayer structure. As oxidized at 1773 K, the in-situ SiO2 phases had a self-healing ability to fill micropores and microcracks to protect the structure. The structure failure was related to SiO2 volatilization. This study emphasized the importance of simple techniques in the thermal-resistance coating fields at multiple length scales.

Advances in Small Angle Neutron Scattering on Polysaccharide Materials.

Polysaccharide materials and biomaterials gain the focus of intense research owing to their great versatility in chemical structures and modification possibilities, as well as their biocompatibility, degradability, and sustainability features. This review focuses on the recent advances in the application of SANS on polysaccharide systems covering a broad range of materials such as nanoparticulate assemblies, hydrogels, nanocomposites, and plant-originating nanostructured systems. It motivates the use of SANS in its full potential by demonstrating the features of contrast variation and contrast matching methods and by reporting the methodologies for data analysis and interpretation. As these soft matter systems may be organized in multiple length scales depending on the interactions and chemical bonds between their components, SANS offers exceptional and unique opportunities for advanced characterization and optimization of new nanostructured polysaccharide materials.

Overcoming strength-toughness trade-off in a eutectic high entropy alloy by optimizing chemical and microstructural heterogeneities

The well-known strength-toughness trade-off has long been an obstacle in the pursuit of advanced structural alloys. Here, we develop a eutectic high entropy alloy that effectively overcomes this limitation. Our alloy is composed of face-centered cubic and body-centered cubic crystalline phases, and demonstrates attractive mechanical properties by harnessing microstructural hybridization and a strain-induced phase transition between phases. Unlike conventional eutectic alloys, the compositionally complexity of our alloy allows control of its microstructural and chemical heterogeneities across multiple length scales, ranging from atomic- and nano-scales to meso-scales. Optimizing these microstructural and chemical heterogeneities within our alloy enables high strength and ductility because of enhanced fracture resistance, outperforming alternative high and medium entropy alloys with similar compositions and microstructures.

Elastic Wave Propagation Control in Porous and Finitely Deformed Locally Resonant Nacre-like Metamaterials.

Recent studies have shown that the mechanical properties of bioinspired periodic composite materials can be strongly influenced by finite deformation effects, leading to highly nonlinear static and dynamic behaviors at multiple length scales. For instance, in porous periodic nacre-like microstructures, microscopic and macroscopic instabilities may occur for a given uniaxial loading process and, as a consequence, wave attenuation properties may evolve as a function of the microstructural evolution, designating it as metamaterials. The numerical outcomes provide new opportunities to design bioinspired, soft composite metamaterials characterized by high deformability and enhanced elastic wave attenuation capabilities given by the insertion of voids and lead cores.

State-of-the-art multimodal scanning hard X-ray imaging and tomography sheds light at multiple length-scales on biomineralization related processes

Biomineralization is a widespread process among living organisms, playing a significant role in the formation and preservation of geological structures, biogeochemical cycles, regulation of ocean chemistry, and carbon sequestration. Moreover pathological biomineralization has a huge impact on human health. The growth of biominerals provides a rich area for research at multiple length-scales since they have controlled hierarchical structures from nano-to macroscopic scales. Here, we provide an overview on the potentials of the state-of-the-art scanning hard X-ray imaging and tomography methods developed at the NANOSCOPIUM beamline at Synchrotron Soleil in such studies. Multimodal scanning imaging provides simultaneous information on the elemental composition by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry, on the sample morphology by absorption contrast imaging, on the crystalline structure by X-ray diffraction, and on the luminescence characteristics by X-ray Excited Optical Luminescence. As illustrated through diverse research cases about biomineralization in stromatolites and pathological calcification, such a versatile portfolio of X-ray imaging techniques provides unique complementary information to conventional laboratory techniques on biominerals and the underlying mineral precipitation processes.

Perforin-Mimicking Molecular Drillings Enable Macroporous Hollow Lignin Spheres for Performance-Configurable Materials.

Despite the first observations that the perforin can punch holes in target cells for live/dead cycles in the human immune system over 110 years ago, emulating this behavior in materials science remains challenging. Here, a perforin-mimicking molecular drilling strategy is employed to engineer macroporous hollow lignin spheres as performance-configurable catalysts, adhesives, and gels. Using a toolbox of over 20 molecular compounds, the local curvature of amphiphilic lignin is modulated to generate macroporous spheres with hole sizes ranging from 0 to 100nm. Multiscale control is precisely achieved through noncovalent assembly directing catalysis, synthesis, and polymerization. Exceptional performance mutations correlate with the changes in hole size, including an increase in catalytic efficiency from 50% to 100%, transition from nonstick synthetics to ultrastrong adhesives (adhesion ≈18.3MPa, exceeding that of classic epoxies), and transformation of viscous sols to tough nanogels. Thus, this study provides a robust and versatile noncovalent route for mimicking perforin-induced structural variations in cells, representing a significant stride toward the exquisite orchestration of assemblies over multiple length scales.

VAM-based equivalent-homogenization model for 3D re-entrant auxetic honeycomb structures

The integration of two vertically crossed re-entrant honeycombs gives rise to a 3D re-entrant honeycomb (3D-RH), which displays intricate three-dimensional auxeticity. To simplify the modeling complexity, this study employs asymptotic analysis of the energy functional stored in the unit cell of the 3D-RH to develop unified constitutive models for 3D structures and panels with multiple length scales. Based on this, an equivalent 3D Cauchy continuum model is established for multi-layer 3D-RH, while a 2D equivalent plate model is developed for sandwich panel with single-layer 3D-RH (SP-3D-RH). The accuracy and effectiveness of these equivalent models are subsequently confirmed through investigations of the X-shaped compressive deformation of multi-layer 3D-RH, as well as the in-plane auxetic deformation and out-of-plane dome-shaped deformation of single-layer 3D-RH. Compared to traditional hexagonal and re-entrant honeycomb sandwich panels, the SP-3D-RH exhibited enhanced equivalent tensile stiffness while effectively mitigating maximum deformation and strain energy under bending and tension conditions. However, due to its relatively low equivalent shear stiffness, the SP-3D-RH exhibited significant deformation and strain energy when subjected to torsional loads, resulting in local stress concentration in the connect region between adjacent facesheets. Parameter analysis shows that the facesheet-to-strut thickness ratio had a substantial impact on the equivalent stiffness and in-plane behavior of the SP-3D-RH, while adjusting the horizontal strut length, strut depth, and re-entrant angle of the 3D-RH can improve the out-of-plane behavior.

Intrinsic and extrinsic cues time somite progenitor contribution to the vertebrate primary body axis.

During embryonic development, the timing of events at the cellular level must be coordinated across multiple length scales to ensure the formation of a well-proportioned body plan. This is clear during somitogenesis, where progenitors must be allocated to the axis over time whilst maintaining a progenitor population for continued elaboration of the body plan. However, the relative importance of intrinsic and extrinsic signals in timing progenitor addition at the single-cell level is not yet understood. Heterochronic grafts from older to younger embryos have suggested a level of intrinsic timing whereby later staged cells contribute to more posterior portions of the axis. To determine the precise step at which cells are delayed, we performed single-cell transcriptomic analysis on heterochronic grafts of somite progenitors in the chicken embryo. This revealed a previously undescribed cell state within which heterochronic grafted cells are stalled. The delayed exit of older cells from this state correlates with expression of posterior Hox genes. Using grafting and explant culture, we find that both Hox gene expression and the migratory capabilities of progenitor populations are intrinsically regulated at the population level. However, by grafting varied sizes of tissue, we find that small heterochronic grafts disperse more readily and contribute to more anterior portions of the body axis while still maintaining Hox gene expression. This enhanced dispersion is not replicated in explant culture, suggesting that it is a consequence of interaction between host and donor tissue and thus extrinsic to the donor tissue. Therefore, we demonstrate that the timing of cell dispersion and resulting axis contribution is impacted by a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic cues.

Multi‐Length Scale Communication Effects in Catalysis: Thinking Big and Acting Small

AbstractThe use of hierarchically structured materials as catalysts has been finding increasing application in the past years. For these catalytic systems, not only the nano‐scale matters: a high degree of order across multiple length scales, along with its control and analytical assessment, is of paramount importance to obtain innovative properties that can find application in catalysis. Most reviews dealing with hierarchically structured materials are concerned with the “bottom‐up” transfer of structural information along the different length scales, with special emphasis on the transmission of chirality. Due to their mesoscale size together with their complex behaviour, these systems are often susceptible to feel the effects of macroscopic forces, that can exert a “top‐down” control of their catalytic properties, so that an external stimulus, acting at the level of the supramolecular architecture of the catalyst, can ultimately determine the outcome of the catalyzed reaction at the molecular level. We review in this paper some recent reports that deal with the experimental implementation of this concept, either by using a mechanical force in a full range direct transmission to the reaction coordinate, or by means of a stepwise relay transmission from the macroscopic level (purely supramolecular chirality) to the nanoscopic one. We focus in this review on these multi‐length scale communication control effects, identifying the different mechanisms that are affecting the catalytic activity.

Tensile deformation behavior of triple heterogeneous microstructure comprising fine equiaxed/coarse equiaxed/columnar grains in AlCu/AlMgSc bimetal fabricated via dual-wire arc direct energy deposition

In this study, an AlCu/AlMgSc bimetallic alloy is prepared using a dual-wire arc direct energy deposition method and a triple heterogeneous microstructure (fine/coarse equiaxed grains/columnar grains) is constructed. Additionally, a quantitative comparative analysis of the deformation behavior of triple and dual heterogeneous microstructures during interrupted tensile testing is conducted, with emphasis on the effects of grain morphology and size on the tensile deformation mechanisms in the heterogeneous microstructure. Compared with the AlCu alloy with a double heterogeneous microstructure (equiaxed/columnar grain), the AlCu/AlMgSc bimetallic alloy exhibits a higher ultimate tensile strength of 301.4 ± 7.9 MPa, a yield strength of 181.3 ± 1.4 MPa, and an elongation of 9.7 % ± 1.3 %, which correspond to increases by 19.4 %, 21.2 %, and 24.4 %, respectively. Interrupted tensile testing is performed and a quasi-in-situ approach is employed to investigate the plastic deformation mechanisms of the triple heterogeneous microstructure during tensile deformation. The density of geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs) in the fine equiaxed grains and the rate of GND accumulation during deformation, surpassed those observed in coarse equiaxed and columnar grains. Furthermore, in micrometer-sized equiaxed grains, the ability to accumulate GNDs decreases as the equiaxed grain size increases, and the equiaxed grains exhibit a higher capacity to accumulate GNDs compared with columnar grains. The triple heterogeneous microstructure provides a more favorable environment for trapping GNDs, thus resulting in enhanced strength and plastic deformation capabilities. This study offers guidance for the formulation and engineering application of heterogeneous microstructure alloys with diverse grain morphologies and multiple length scales. Additionally, novel approaches are introduced to enhance the strength and ductility of Al alloys.

Bioinspired structural hydrogels with highly ordered hierarchical orientations by flow-induced alignment of nanofibrils

Natural structural materials often possess unique combinations of strength and toughness resulting from their complex hierarchical assembly across multiple length scales. However, engineering such well-ordered structures in synthetic materials via a universal and scalable manner still poses a grand challenge. Herein, a simple yet versatile approach is proposed to design hierarchically structured hydrogels by flow-induced alignment of nanofibrils, without high time/energy consumption or cumbersome postprocessing. Highly aligned fibrous configuration and structural densification are successfully achieved in anisotropic hydrogels under ambient conditions, resulting in desired mechanical properties and damage-tolerant architectures, for example, strength of 14 ± 1 MPa, toughness of 154 ± 13 MJ m−3, and fracture energy of 153 ± 8 kJ m−2. Moreover, a hydrogel mesoporous framework can deliver ultra-fast and unidirectional water transport (maximum speed at 65.75 mm s−1), highlighting its potential for water purification. This scalable fabrication explores a promising strategy for developing bioinspired structural hydrogels, facilitating their practical applications in biomedical and engineering fields.