title: Multi-scale mechanical and transport properties of a hydrogel.
abstract: In this paper, molecular dynamic simulation was used to study the effect of water on the equilibrated structure and mechanical properties of cross-linked hydrogel at multiple scales. The hydrogel consisted of Polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (PEGDGE) as epoxy and the Jeffamine, poly-oxy-alkylene-amines, as curing agent. The results for systems with various water contents indicated that the cross-links were more hydrophilic within the hydrogel structure. Effects of cross-linking on the transport properties were also investigated by computing diffusion coefficients of water molecules. A new Coarse-Grained (CG) scheme for hydrogels is proposed, and validated by comparing the transport properties with the all-atom method, demonstrating the capability of the model to capture the correct dynamic evolution of the system. The all-atom model of the hydrogel was mapped to the CG model using the MARTINI force field. This method resulted in a more realistic representation of the stiffness of the system, compared to the previous experimental studies in the literature. The variation of the stiffness of the hydrogel as a function of the water content showed that 40% water content is the optimal value for mechanical performance of the hydrogel.
authors: School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States.
authors: Hossein
authors: H
authors: Salahshoor
authors: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA, United States. Electronic address: nrahbar@wpi.edu.
authors: Nima
authors: N
authors: Rahbar
mesh_terms: D000588:Amines / Q000737:chemistry; D004058:Diffusion; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D056004:Molecular Dynamics Simulation; D009038:Motion; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000588:Amines; D014867:Water; D020136:Hydrogel, Polyethylene Glycol Dimethacrylate; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols
keywords: Atomistic simulations; Coarse graining molecular dynamics; Crosslinking process; Elastic properties; Hydrogel; Transport properties