Emergence of Non-Hexagonal Crystal Packing of Deswollen and Deformed Ultra-Soft Microgels under Osmotic Pressure Control.

ABSTRACT: Highly solvent swollen poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid) microgels are synthesized without exogenous crosslinker, making them extremely soft and deformable. These ultralow crosslinked microgels (ULC) are incubated under controlled osmotic pressure to provide a slow (and presumably thermodynamically controlled) approach to higher packing densities. It is found that ULC microgels show stable colloidal packing over a very wide range of osmotic pressures and thus packing densities. Surprising observation of co-existence between hexagonal and square lattices is also made over the lower range of studied osmotic pressures, with microgels apparently changing shape from spheres to cubes in defects or grain boundaries. It is proposed that the unusual packing behavior observed for ULC micro

SUBMITTER: Islam MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8542600 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature