Fast temperature-responsive nanocomposite PNIPAM hydrogels with controlled pore wall thickness: force and rate of T-response

0382267 - ÚMCH 2013 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Depa, Katarzyna - Strachota, Adam - Šlouf, Miroslav - Hromádková, Jiřina
Fast temperature-responsive nanocomposite PNIPAM hydrogels with controlled pore wall thickness: force and rate of T-response.
European Polymer Journal. Roč. 48, č. 12 (2012), s. 1997-2007. ISSN 0014-3057. E-ISSN 1873-1945
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA106/09/1101
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505
Keywords : porous * nanocomposite * hydrogels
Subject RIV: JI - Composite Materials
Impact factor: 2.562, year: 2012

Fast thermoresponsive porous hydrogels based on the PNIPAM–silica nanocomposite were prepared and optimized in order to obtain increased force (pressure) response to temperature stimuli. This was achieved by increasing pore wall thickness via changing the monomers concentration during the hydrogels’ cryogenic synthesis. The mechanically strong and compact pore structure of the best gel made it possible to increase the force (pressure) response 3 times and the shear modulus 4 times, while the volume ratio of swollen to deswollen state remained unchanged, and the kinetics of the T-response was only moderately slower than in the case of the analogous ultra-fast responsive soft gels. The porous structure of the hydrogels (SEM), the dispersion and particle size of the nanofiller in the pore walls (TEM), as well as the swelling behavior and time-resolved force response to T-change are discussed in this work.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0216126