Figure 1.

Schematic demonstrating the sea cucumber dermis-inspired PVAc-CNC softening mechanism. In the dry state (left), cellulose nanocrystals joined by hydrogen bonds form a reinforcing network throughout the nanocomposite. When saturated with water (right), the inter-nanocrystal hydrogen bonds are displaced with water molecule-nanocrystal bonds, leading to an overall reduction in storage modulus.