Time-resolved structural evolution during the collapse of responsive hydrogels: The microgel-to-particle transition.

ABSTRACT: Adaptive hydrogels, often termed smart materials, are macromolecules whose structure adjusts to external stimuli. Responsive micro- and nanogels are particularly interesting because the small length scale enables very fast response times. Chemical cross-links provide topological constraints and define the three-dimensional structure of the microgels, whereas their porous structure permits fast mass transfer, enabling very rapid structural adaption of the microgel to the environment. The change of microgel structure involves a unique transition from a flexible, swollen finite-size macromolecular network, characterized by a fuzzy surface, to a colloidal particle with homogeneous density and a sharp surface. In this contribution, we determine, for the first time, the structural evolution duri

SUBMITTER: Keidel R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5938240 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature