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Dynamics studies on thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel in tetrahydrofuran/water mixtures

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Abstract

The properties of thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) hydrogel in tetrahydrofuran/H2O mixtures were studied. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images demonstrate that the hydrogel changes from homogeneous to heterogeneous microstructure upon the addition of tetrahydrofuran to water. This heterogeneous PNIPAAm hydrogel in the mixture solvent exhibits a very slow response rate at temperatures above its lower critical solution temperature. The decreased response rate is attributed to the formation of special ternary complexes including the polymer and the two solvents in the tetrahydrofuran/H2O mixture. Factors controlling the thermoresponse rate are discussed further and several suggestions are provided for designing and developing fast-response PNIPAAm hydrogels in the future.

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Acknowledgement

We are grateful for the financial support of the National Textile Center, USA (project no. M01-CR01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Textiles and Apparel & Biomedical Engineering Program, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-4401, USA

    Xian-Zheng Zhang & Chih-Chang Chu

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  1. Xian-Zheng Zhang
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  2. Chih-Chang Chu
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Correspondence to Chih-Chang Chu.

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Zhang, XZ., Chu, CC. Dynamics studies on thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel in tetrahydrofuran/water mixtures. Colloid Polym Sci 282, 589–595 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-003-0983-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-003-0983-1

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