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Combining Microfluidics and Microrheology to Determine Rheological Properties of Soft Matter during Repeated Phase Transitions
Published on: April 19, 2018
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Volume Phase Transitions of Slide-Ring Gels
Akinori Bando1, Rumiko Kasahara2, Kentaro Kayashima3
1Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8561, Japan. bando@molle.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
Polymers
|April 14, 2019
Summary
Slide-ring gels exhibit suppressed volume phase transitions due to freely-movable cross-links. Their unique sliding properties lead to microphase separation and altered swelling dynamics, differing from fixed-gel systems.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Science
- Materials Science
- Soft Matter Physics
Background:
- Ionic chemical gels with fixed cross-links exhibit volume phase transitions above a critical ionization degree.
- Slide-ring gels, featuring freely-movable cross-linking junctions, show distinct behaviors compared to traditional chemical gels.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the volume phase transition of slide-ring gels.
- To understand the influence of freely-movable cross-links on gel properties.
- To explore the mesoscale structure and dynamics of slide-ring gels during phase transitions.
Main Methods:
- Experimental investigation of volume phase transitions in slide-ring gels.
- Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to analyze mesoscale structure.
- Observation of swelling and shrinking dynamics.
Main Results:
- Slide-ring gels show a significantly higher critical ionization value for volume phase transitions than theoretical predictions for chemical gels, indicating suppression.
- SAXS patterns reveal microphase separation during shrinking, attributed to the sliding of cyclic molecules along polymer chains.
- Slide-ring gels exhibit overshooting/undershooting of equilibrium volumes and slow dynamics during swelling/desorption, linked to junction sliding.
Conclusions:
- The freely-movable cross-linking junctions in slide-ring gels suppress the volume phase transition.
- Microphase separation driven by cyclic molecule sliding is a key factor in the suppressed transition and altered dynamics.
- Slide-ring gels possess unique properties related to junction mobility that differentiate them from conventional gels.
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