Water-triggered reprogrammable cellulose-based hydroplastic with ultrahigh strength via dual-network strategy

Cellulose, while a promising eco-friendly plastic alternative, suffers from inherently poor plasticity that restricts its applications. To overcome this, a cellulose-based hydroplastic material was developed, using cellulose as a structural framework reinforced by a primary-secondary dual-network structure—comprising imine bonds and hydrogen bonds. This unique design enables reversible transitions between a water-triggered “plastic state” and a robust “stable state”. Consequently, the material achieves exceptional mechanical strength (tensile strength: 93.3 MPa, surpassing most commercial plastics) alongside reprogrammable processability, allowing arbitrary 2D-to-3D shape transformations under mild conditions. It also exhibits outstanding structural stability, maintaining its shape integrity for over 200 days at 80 % relative humidity. Furthermore, the material demonstrates superior multifunctionality, including thermal stability, UV resistance, solvent resistance, antibacterial properties, intrinsic self-healing capability, and facile recyclability. Critically, it retains an eco-friendly profile, undergoing complete degradation within 90 days when buried in soil. This work provides novel insights for designing high-performance, multifunctional hydroplastic materials from sustainable cellulose, offering a viable pathway towards replacing conventional plastics.