β-Cyclodextrin-based supramolecular poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels prepared by frontal polymerization.

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Supramolecular Chemistry

Background:

• Hydrogel synthesis typically requires covalent crosslinkers.
• Supramolecular crosslinking offers an alternative approach to hydrogel formation.
• Frontal polymerization (FP) is an advanced synthesis technique.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-grafted-acryloyl-β-cyclodextrin hydrogels using frontal polymerization.
• To investigate the role of acryloyl-β-cyclodextrin (AβCD) as a non-covalent crosslinker in FP.
• To evaluate the impact of AβCD concentration on hydrogel swelling properties.

Main Methods:

• Frontal polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide in the presence of AβCD.
• Characterization of hydrogel properties, focusing on swelling behavior.
• Comparative analysis with hydrogels synthesized using covalent crosslinkers.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of supramolecularly crosslinked hydrogels via FP without covalent crosslinkers.
• AβCD enabled frontal polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide.
• Tunable swelling properties were achieved by adjusting AβCD content, with low amounts yielding superabsorbent hydrogels.
• Hydrogels with covalent crosslinkers showed significantly lower swelling ratios.

Conclusions:

• Frontal polymerization is effective for creating AβCD-crosslinked hydrogels.
• AβCD acts as a versatile non-covalent crosslinker, enabling tunable superabsorbent properties.
• This method offers a promising alternative to traditional covalent crosslinking for hydrogel fabrication.