Rheological and thermal behaviour of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/alginate smart polymeric networks

Dumitriu, R. P. , Mitchell, G. and Vasile, C. (2011) Rheological and thermal behaviour of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)/alginate smart polymeric networks. Polymer International, 60 (9). pp. 1398-1407. ISSN 0959-8103 doi: 10.1002/pi.3093

Abstract/Summary

Interpenetrating polymeric networks based on sodium alginate and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) covalently crosslinked with N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide have been investigated using rheology, thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction measurements and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). An improved elastic response of the samples with a higher PNIPAAm content and increased amount of crosslinking agent was found. The temperature-responsive behaviour of the hydrogel samples was evidenced by viscoelastic measurements performed at various temperatures. It is shown that the properties of these gels can be tuned according to composition, amount of crosslinking agent and temperature changes. X-ray scattering analysis revealed that the hydrophobic groups are locally segregated even in the swollen state whilst cryo-SEM showed the highly heterogeneous nature of the gels.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/26264
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Interdisciplinary centres and themes > Chemical Analysis Facility (CAF) > Electron Microscopy Laboratory (CAF)
Publisher	Society of Chemical Industry
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