Microfluidics Fabrication of Self-Oscillating Microgel Clusters with Tailored Temperature-Responsive Properties Using
Yuandu Hu1, Juan Pérez-Mercader1,2
1Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|November 16, 2017
Summary
Researchers created poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)-based microgel clusters using polymersomes as microreactors. Adjusting polymer linker ratios controlled cluster structure and temperature response, enabling tunable chemomechanical oscillations.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Materials Science
- Supramolecular Chemistry
Background:
- Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgels are stimuli-responsive materials with applications in various fields.
- Controlling the internal structure and macroscopic properties of microgel assemblies remains a challenge.
- Polymersomes offer potential as microreactors for precise synthesis of complex microgel architectures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a method for fabricating PNIPAM-based microgel clusters using polymersomes as microreactors.
- To investigate the influence of polymer linker composition on cluster structure and temperature responsiveness.
- To explore the chemomechanical oscillation behavior of the synthesized microgel clusters.
Main Methods:
- Microfluidics was employed to fabricate polymersomes, serving as microreactors.
- PNIPAM microgels functionalized with ruthenium and amino groups were cross-linked with linear PNIPAM-based polymer linkers.
- The ratio of N-isopropylacrylamide to N-acryloxysuccinimide in the polymer linkers was systematically varied.
- Chemomechanical oscillations were induced and observed in a catalyst-free Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction system.
Main Results:
- Successfully prepared PNIPAM-based microgel clusters using polymersomes as microreactors.
- Demonstrated that the internal structure and temperature response of the clusters could be controlled by adjusting the N-isopropylacrylamide/N-acryloxysuccinimide ratio in the polymer linkers.
- Observed varying degrees of chemomechanical oscillations in the microgel clusters when exposed to Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction substrates.
Conclusions:
- Polymersomes are effective microreactors for the controlled synthesis of PNIPAM-based microgel clusters.
- Tunable internal structures and temperature responses of microgel clusters can be achieved by modifying polymer linker composition.
- The synthesized microgel clusters exhibit promising potential for applications requiring controlled chemomechanical oscillations.
