HYDROGELS WITH RAPID THERMAL-RESPONSIBILITY BY USING LIQUID CRYSTALLITE AS TEMPLATE

To improve temperature-sensitivity of conventional poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogel, a kind of lyotropic liquid crystal based on polyoxyethylene 20 cetyl ether (Brij 58, C16E20) was used as template to prepare nanostructured hydrogel. The structure, morphology swelling behavior and temperature-sensitivity of confined PNIPAM hydrogel were characterized. SEM images showed that polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) in Brij 58 solution formed hydrogel with honeycomb structure. Compared to pure PNIPAM hydrogel, the swelling rate increases. The time for losing water was greatly shortened. The thermal-responsibility measured by differential scanning calorimeters (DSC) was improved remarkably. Finally, as for oscillatory swelling/deswelling behaviors, rapid recovering could be found by alternating temperature from 20 to 37°C.