Issue 23, 2022

Structure–property correlation of crosslinked domain hydrogels exhibiting thermoresponsive mechanical toughening and hybridization with photoluminescent carbon dots

Abstract

A hydrogel exhibiting stimuli-responsive simultaneous change in multiple properties is attractive for various applications. We have recently developed a gel with a thermoresponsive crosslinked domain (CD) structure, which underwent mechanical toughening upon heating in air with maintenance of high transparency. In this study, we evaluated the structure–property correlation of a hydrogel having a thermoresponsive CD structure prepared by a polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) process using reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) with a hydrophilic poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAAm) macro-chain transfer agent (macro-CTA). The molecular weight of the macro-CTA had a slight effect on the swelling behavior of the product gels in water, while a macro-CTA with an appropriate molecular weight yielded a gel exhibiting pronounced mechanical toughening with an increased elastic modulus and elongation upon heating. The composition of the gel significantly affected its mechanical properties and transparency at a high temperature, and we found that a gel with an NIPAAm content as high as 50% maintained the transparency due to an internal structure with homogeneously dispersed CDs in the network. In addition, we successfully obtained a gel exhibiting simultaneous mechanical toughening and enhanced photoluminescence upon heating by hybridization with carbon dots.

Graphical abstract: Structure–property correlation of crosslinked domain hydrogels exhibiting thermoresponsive mechanical toughening and hybridization with photoluminescent carbon dots

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
04 Apr 2022
Accepted
18 May 2022
First published
19 May 2022

Polym. Chem., 2022,13, 3479-3488

Structure–property correlation of crosslinked domain hydrogels exhibiting thermoresponsive mechanical toughening and hybridization with photoluminescent carbon dots

S. Ida, T. Okuno, M. Morimura, K. Suzuki, H. Takeshita, M. Oyama, K. Nakajima and S. Kanaoka, Polym. Chem., 2022, 13, 3479 DOI: 10.1039/D2PY00423B

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