초록 |
Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) is a well-known LCST polymer in water, containing hydrophilic and hydrophobic functional groups. Because of its volume phase transition near body temperature, PNIPAm hydrogels has been intensively studied and applied as a stimuli-responsive material. The application of hydrogels strongly depends on the water content in the gel, which naturally dries as the water evaporates from the system, leading to limitation of their application. To overcome this drawback, crosslinked polymers in non-volatile solvents, such as ethylene glycol (EG), ionic liquid (IL) have received significant attention, however, the study of these field is not much investigated compared to the hydrogels. In this study, we prepared polymer network in non-volatile EG and IL to make dry-free gels. To understand the effect of preparation condition on its physical-chemical properties, we investigated the swelling kinetics, thermal responsiveness and mechanical strength. |