Ultrafast and large deformation of thermoresponsive hydrogels with phase-separated structure
발표자
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초록
내용
Thermoresponsive hydrogels have attracted considerable interest in various fields because they undergo volumetric changes in response to temperature. For the application of a versatile thermoresponsive hydrogel, fast swelling/shrinking and large volumetric changes are required. In addition, for repeatable use, the shrunken gel should re-swell rapidly until it reaches an equilibrium swollen state. Here, we propose a novel type of thermoresponsive hydrogels that show improved shrinking and re-swelling. By using globular structure of poly(N-isopropylacryamide) in salt solution, it is possible to synthesize phase separated hydrogels with large and rapid shrinkage than normal type of hydrogels. Furthermore, we incorporated simply synthesized microgels in phase separated hydrogels. As a result, hydrophilic and ionic microgels effectively improved the rate of swelling. In this presentation, synthetic strategy of thermoresponsive hydrogels and improved kinetics of them will be discussed.