title: A novel nanocomposite hydrogel with precisely tunable UCST and LCST.
abstract: Novel thermosensitive nanocomposite (NC) hydrogels consisting of organic/inorganic networks are prepared via in situ free radical polymerization of 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethyl methacrylate (MEO2 MA) and oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (OEGMA) in the presence of inorganic cross-linker clay in aqueous solution. The obtained clay/P(MEO2 MA-co-OEGMA) hydrogels exhibit double volume phase transition temperatures, an upper critical solution temperature (UCST), and a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), which can be controlled between 5 and 85 °C by varying the fraction of OEGMA units and the weight percentage of cross-linker clay. These new types of NC hydrogels with excellent reversible thermosensitivity are promising for temperature-sensitive applications such as smart optical switches.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, 2999 North Renmin Road, Shanghai, 201620, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Mengge
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Zhouqi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Xiaoze
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Theato
authors.forename: Meifang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000737:chemistry; D000077215:Clay; D005609:Free Radicals / Q000737:chemistry; D020100:Hydrogels / Q000737:chemistry*; D008689:Methacrylates / Q000737:chemistry*; D053761:Nanocomposites / Q000737:chemistry*; D044367:Phase Transition; D058105:Polymerization; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D012996:Solutions / Q000737:chemistry; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D005609:Free Radicals; D020100:Hydrogels; D008689:Methacrylates; D011108:Polymers; D012996:Solutions; C539356:2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate; C004919:ethylene dimethacrylate; D000077215:Clay
keywords: 2-(2-methoxyethoxy) ethyl methacrylate; lower critical solution temperature (LCST); nanocomposite hydrogels; oligo(ethylene glycol) methacrylate; upper critical solution temperature (UCST)